Don't leave me
by shadizsato
Summary: Natsu's tired of being pushed away whenever his partner wants to go on a date. He is tired of being alone, of being abandoned. What happens when he falls back on a friend that watched him go through those rough patches. Does he even have the trust to let them get close? Rated M for obvious reasons. Previously a one-shot!
1. Don't leave me

**I do not own Fairy Tail, Hiro Mashima does.**

**This is going to be a one shot here and any and ALL criticism is much appreciated. If you don't like how something is said or done, tell me. I can't get better or fix my mistakes without more input from you all who read this!**

Though darkness had claimed the guild, there were plenty of members still there, fighting, laughing, and generally just making a mess. It had been a fairly normal day, as far as you can call Fairy Tail or its members normal. A familiar scene was just coming about, Gray was insulting Natsu and in turn Natsu had risen to the challenge with his fists. The only thing that stopped the two was a gauntleted fist from Fairy Tails very own Titania. Happy sat on the bar, eating a fish that had seemingly appeared out of thin air while he watched Natsu drag himself away from the angry woman. With a thud, Natsu dropped his head on the counter groaning. "Why does Erza have to ruin our fun every time?" The Dragon Slayer spat at no one in particular.

"Maybe if you didn't destroy the guild every time you two fought she would go a little easy on you from time to time." A voice called over to him from down the bar. He looked over to see a smiling Mirajane and  
>gave her a frown that furrowed his brows. "But Gray started it!" He whined.<p>

"He asked you when you were going to go on another job, Natsu." Mirajane said shaking her head.

"Besides, Lucy isn't back from her date yet. We can't pick one without her!" Natsu said with a wave of his hand to dismiss the issue. "Maybe I should go get her, she has been complaining about being short on rent this month." With that he pushed away from the bar and started to march out the door now that he had a personal mission.

Happy jumped up in his way and grabbed his legs to hold him back to only get drug along. "But Natsu! She said she wouldn't let us sleep in her bed anymore if we showed up tonight!" That finally brought the Dragon Slayer to a halt with a sigh. He slumped his shoulders forward and dropped into a chair next to Lisanna. "Why do girls insist so much on going on dates?" He inquired sadly. Mirajane blushed slightly and laughed. "Girls like to feel wanted and to have someone pay attention to them." She explained, noting a confused look on Natsu's face.

"But I pay attention to her, and she is a part of the team. We need her; it wouldn't be the same without her." He responded, still seeking a better answer from the barmaid. "Am I not enough?" He asked.

Mirajane jumped, startled by his sudden question. "It isn't that you are not enough... It is more that she is trying to find a little happiness outside of the guild. Why, are you jealous that she is spending time with someone other than you outside of the guild? I know you are both usually combined at the hip, but do you like her?" The mage asked, thinking she already knew the answer.

"Of course I like her. She's family." He said with a smile.

Mirajane sighed and shook her head; of course he wouldn't have known what she was asking. He was too immature to understand such things. An idea popped into her head, she could tease him and see if she could get a straight answer out of him.

"Ne... Natsu. What do you and Lucy do when you stay over at her place? As far as I know she only has the one bed, do you sleep in her bed too?" The Dragon Slayer cocked his head to the side and gave her a strange look. "Why would I not sleep in her bed? We are partners anyways, we share everything!" A smile spread across his lips, revealing his sharp white teeth in a toothy grin.

"No wonder she wants to keep you out of her bed. What would her date think if he came over to find a man sleeping in her bed?" Mirajane said with a laugh. Shaking her head at Natsu's confused look she decided to give in. He was just too dense to understand. Cursing at herself she reminded herself that she wasn't far behind him. She had kept her feelings bottled up for so long because she thought Lisanna and he would end up together. Then Lucy had shown up and it had looked like they were going to become an item. Now both Lucy and Lisanna stood in her way. How many times would she be willing to step back to see someone else be happy in place of herself.

Natsu was the one that brought her back to reality with a groan. The woman shook herself mentally and smiled back down at him. "Why do you like to sleep in her bed anyways? You have your own house."

Natsu smiled sheepishly. "Her bed is more comfortable... And besides, I feel alone at my place. Even Happy isn't staying with me much anymore; he has been spending more time with Wendy and Charle. Speaking of Happy, where did he..." Natsu started to ask only to see the blue Exceed float out the door to follow Charle.

"Another night alone?" Mirajane asked sadly. She knew the feeling well; even though Lisanna and Elfman lived with her they were almost always gone on missions. With her always working the bar she had not joined a team or even taken the time to date. She already knew who she wanted, even if he didn't.

Natsu nodded and pushed himself to his feet, feeling slightly defeated. "I will see you tomorrow Mira." He gave her a wave and left the building without another word.

Mirajane watched as he left, feeling sorry for the Dragon Slayer. A thought quickly rushed into her and before she could even realize she was reacting, she was around the counter pulling the guild doors open. "Natsu!" She called out, seeing the sullen mage turn questioningly towards him. "It's too dark, would you mind walking me home?" She could feel her cheeks redden by the heat that ran through her face.

"Aye!" Natsu called back to her, waving for her to catch up. It struck him as odd that she would ask to be walked home when she was one of the more powerful mages in the guild, but didn't question it. He waited only long enough for her to catch up before heading towards her house. Locking his arms behind his head, the Dragon Slayer stared up at the sky as they walked in silence.

Mirajane walked close behind Natsu, cursing herself at not thinking this over before calling him over. She wasn't afraid of the younger man, but she was apprehensive about what he would say. She wasn't Lucy by any means. How could she ever hope to replace her in his eyes. She jumped when she realized he was watching her over his shoulder and made herself smile at him. "Thank you for walking with me, I don't like being out in the dark by myself." She said trying to break the silence.

Natsu smiled back, "Sure thing. You know I would do anything for you Mira." He watched her for a minute before they reached her place, her porch lighting up their arrival.

The silence between them came back as she stood there trying to find her words. "You don't have to be alone..." She said finally. "What do you mean?" He asked, not catching her meaning.

"Why don't you come up with me? You can pretend you are staying at Lucy's." Mirajane immediately kicked herself at the last statement. She wanted him to look at her and see her not Lucy or Lisanna.

Natsu's face split from ear to ear in a wide grin. "Really? Alright!" He cheered before walking in behind her. She immediately shushed him. "Quiet, Lisanna and Elfman are probably already asleep. We don't want to wake them to know you were here." She said sternly.

"Why not? What is wrong with me being here?" He asked, wondering if either of the two siblings had an issue with him that would want him to stay away from their home. Okay, he was extremely destructive and loud. Maybe they had a point, but he wasn't going to admit to that they had a legitimate reason. Mira's reason however wasn't what he was expecting. "What would they think if they found you sleeping in my bed? Elfman would think you took advantage of me! Despite how untrue it would be, we don't need them questioning it." She grabbed his hand and pulled him to her room silently, giggling as he walked over to her bed and flopped down on it, sighing as he sunk into it.

"Oh this bed feels amazing." He said with a laugh. Mira walked over to her closet and pulled out a simple pair of pajamas. Thinking it over she put them back and grabbed a nicer pair, one that would show off her figure. She figured if she had gone this far to bring him into her room she might as well make the best of it. "Get comfortable, I am going to go take a shower. I will be back in a few." She said before disappearing out her door, shutting it behind her.

As soon as she had locked herself in the bathroom, Mira flushed brightly. 'What are you doing? Bringing him here and sleeping next to him? What do you want to happen? Do I even want it to happen?' She asked herself. She ignored her own questions and busied herself with cleaning her body. After her shower she brushed her teeth and dropped her clothes off in the laundry bin before heading back. When she arrived she found him sound asleep in the middle of her bed, a small smile placed across his lips. She watched him from her doorway for a time, taking note about how his breathing slowed steadily and how his fingers curled around the blankets.

She had to push him to get him to slide over, but the movement didn't seem to wake him. When she reasoned she had enough room she slipped in herself, turning to face him so she wouldn't take up as much room. Sleep easily grabbed ahold of her and pulled her deep within her own mind.

Natsu's lips gently brushed her own, bringing the mage out of her slumber silently. She was met with the dark black eyes of her Dragon Slayer. 'Why did that just pop into my head?' She thought to herself. She had never  
>known herself to be possessive. Quite the contrary as... Her thoughts faded away as he pressed his lips to hers again, overly cautious. "Mira..." He whispered before kissing her again. "What are you doing Natsu?" She questioned putting a hand to his chest to hold him back. "I don't know..." He responded. "But it feels right. Don't make me stop..." He said pushing past her hand again to kiss her. Without thinking she pressed her lips back against his, giving him permission to continue. She rolled with him as he tried to get over her until she hit something warm. She tried again but was met against the same force she couldn't see.<p>

Mira awoke with a start, snapping out of her dream. A groan rolled through her and a hand reached up to her cold lips. It had all been a dream, just a dream and nothing more. It had felt so real that she could remember the warmth of his lips against hers and a blush flooded her cheeks. She then realized what she had been pushed up against, the real Natsu. Luckily she hadn't woke him. She needed to get up, needed to splash some water in her face to get her mind off of him. As she rolled over to get out of bed she felt a hand stop her. "Please don't go..." A voice whispered pleadingly. She rolled over silently to find Natsu had spoken in his sleep, pain clearly etched into his face. Settling back into the bed, she held his hand in hers and whispered back to him. "I'm here Natsu. I won't leave you." She felt his other hand reach around her waist and pull her to his chest. There was no way he was still asleep right? He looked it, but she wasn't sure. She curled into his body and simply let herself enjoy the moment she had been graced with.

Natsu woke slowly, groaning as he stretched happily. It was surprisingly a good night's sleep. He felt the sun on his bare back and moaned as he felt something brush against him, only to freeze a moment later. He couldn't remember where he was except that he knew he wasn't at home or Lucy's apartment. Looking down at his chest, his eyes widened as he saw the woman. "Mira!" He cried out, rolling out of the bed to hit the ground with a solid thud. "What...? When did..." He started to ask before he heard other footsteps in the hallway and Elfman's familiar voice calling out to see if she was okay. The woman in the bed simply looked at him, as if bewildered at his actions. Natsu's fight or flight reaction kicked in and before he knew it, he had dove out her window from the third story building and hit the ground running.

Mira sat on the bed, watching the Dragon Slayer run away. Elfman was closer now and she could hear his urgent pleas for her to answer him. She noticed Natsu's scarf and vest on the floor and hurriedly hid them under her blankets before meeting Elfman at the door. "Mira are you alright?" He asked looking passed her in the room. "I thought I heard..." He said shaking his head. "I don't know what, but I know I heard your name."

Mira raised her hands and swept the room with an arm. "Nothing is wrong, don't worry... Head back and I will be out in a moment to make breakfast..." She smiled at her brother  
>to fend off his questions. She could hardly tell him that Natsu had slept with her then ran off.<p>

Natsu sat just outside the guild on a tree branch so he could watch the road leading to the front gates. After waking up next to Mira with little knowledge of what had happened the night prior, he had freaked out and run away. He only stopped when he had gotten home. He remembered walking her home then falling asleep in her bed. That hadn't explained why he only had pants on when he had woken up. Or why she was against him, him holding her close, or even the fact that he hadn't wanted to let go.

The only thing that made sense to him was that he needed to apologize for whatever he did and let her punish him how she deemed fit. A sinking feeling entered his stomach as soon as he saw her. He had to make this right. He dropped to the ground and noticed she had his scarf around her waist, walking towards him. But he didn't see anger in her, only the smile that broke across her face when she saw him. He gave her a weak smile as she got closer and let his eyes drop, trying not to notice how much cleavage her dress showed off. He failed.

When she got close he opened his mouth to find the words to say, but they came out a jumbled mess. "I wanted to... Talk with... I need to... I'm sorry..." He finally said. He closed his eyes and prepared himself for a slap and recoiled when she draped his scarf over his shoulders. "You left in too much of a hurry this morning that I couldn't thank you for helping me last night." When he opened his eyes carefully she simply walked past him as if nothing was wrong.

He spun around and grabbed her wrist before she could get away. "What exactly happened last night?" He asked quickly. He could feel his brain try to keep up and felt it falter. Things were not making sense to him. She had answers that he needed.

Mira stopped and looked over her shoulder at him, smiling at his confusion. "Not telling." With that she gave a small wink and walked away. She giggled to herself at how easy it was to toy with him. It would only bring him closer to her. Maybe it could bring him to understand where she stood. She walked back to the guild and went about her business.

Natsu sat a distance away from the bar that Mirajane was working and frowned at her. She should have been mad should have yelled at him. But instead she only smiled at him and teased him. Of course she had always teased him about girls and Gray but it wasn't like her usual self to play with him like this. It drove him crazy to no end. He wanted to keep asking her, to find out what happened.

When night started to fall again he waited until she was about to leave before standing up and walking over to her. "Care to walk me home again?" She asked with a smile. She watched his lips as she had been all day. She had to know what they tasted like. "Will you tell me what happened?" He asked in  
>response. She licked her lips and nodded. "Come back with me and I will tell you everything."<p>

With a sigh, Natsu raised his arm to indicate her to lead the way and followed a couple of steps behind her. With a smile, she stopped and turned around, placing her hands behind her back. She waited until he stopped before walking towards him. He visibly stiffened when she reached up to his cheek. "I can't believe you don't remember what happened last night..." She pulled herself closer until her breath tickled at his ear. "Because nothing happened. All you did was sleep in my bed and keep me from being alone." Mira stepped away from him and turned to walk away but was stopped.

"Then why have you teased me all day about it? If I really never did anything then why...?" He asked quietly.

Mira looked him in the eyes and smiled. "Because I wanted you to believe you had done something. I wanted to know how you would react if something had happened." She found that it was difficult to hold her smile but forced herself to hold it.

Natsu shook his head slowly. "It isn't that something happened. But rather if I did something to you. I can't lose another friend." The fire mage wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to him. "I don't want to lose you."

Mira's heart swelled. If she couldn't be his in a romantic way then she could at least be a good friend to him. It would keep him close, maybe that was enough. At least she thought it would be enough. Maybe in time she would convince him otherwise. "Are you heading to Lucy's again?" She asked hesitantly pushing away from him and grabbing her door.

Natsu downcast his eyes from hers and shook his head. "She asked me to stay away again, something about a second date." Of course she hadn't told him not to come over, but she had implied it simply by giving him a look. "Then stay with me again?" She asked  
>stepping into her doorway.<p>

"Are you sure?" Natsu asked unsure. He had never felt so out of control around her. It wasn't that he couldn't control himself around her, but thinking about being alone with her stirred something inside him and left him confused. "Maybe I shouldn't..." He said finally and shook his head.

"Please?" A pout flashed across the white haired woman's face before she could get it under control. "I don't want to be alone." She whispered.

Natsu felt his stomach flop. He wanted to hold her and tell her it would be okay, but they were friends, 'A friend wouldn't have thought about it, so why did I hesitate?' He asked himself just a moment before he stepped into her, putting an arm around her. "You are never alone Mira. Not as long as you want me around, I won't leave you."

Mira smiled to herself and nodded against his shoulder. "As long as you promise not to  
>leave until I tell you that you can." She whispered to herself. She had forgotten about the Dragon Slayers heightened senses, but he didn't respond except to let her go and gesture to head on in.<p>

They were once again in her room, but he had made sure he kept his clothes on this time, bound to not make the same mistake as the morning prior. Every thought was about how to keep himself in check until she rolled into his chest, a shiver running through him. "You're so warm." She whispered looking up at him, focusing on his lips. She knew he saw her staring but ignored the persistent buzz that told her not to. She licked her dry lips and slowly drifted closer to his waiting for him to pull away. He never did, but neither did he move to meet her lips until they both froze just a heartbeat away.

'Would he hate me if I did?' She thought to herself. She never got a chance to answer as a pair of warm lips brushed hers, a gasp leaving her throat. He immediately pulled back from her, but she followed to press her  
>lips over his. Sparks shot through her body and she moaned into his lips. She was surprised when he pressed into her, his soft lips breaking from hers, but still brushed against hers. She shuddered as his hot breath ran over her skin and caused her to whimper in need, her lips parting in anticipation. "Natsu..." She whispered. "Don't tease me... Just kis-" She tried to say but was cut off with the other's lips. She melted against them, the two gently kissing. Though neither knew exactly what they were doing, they let their bodies direct what happened.<p>

Suddenly Natsu pushed her away, albeit hesitantly. He propped himself on his elbow to look down into her eyes. He couldn't seem to take his eyes from her piercing blue eyes. The woman next to him had made no expectations from him, had given him no ultimatum about choices, she was simply there. "I don't know you would let me do that..." He admitted.

Her heart raced at the memory of their kiss and her actions leading up to it. She had thought she was going to scream in frustration at the fact that he hadn't even reacted. That was until he had closed the gap and kissed her. Her mind was foggy and she was unable to produce a clear thought. It took a moment for his words to reach her ears but brought a soft smile to her lips. "You make me feel like more than another one of the guild... You make me feel needed." Hands wrapped around his scarf and forced him to lower his head until their foreheads touched. "Do you still promise to keep me company?" She added.

Natsu shook his head slightly in disbelief, "Until you no longer feel alone. Only until you decide you do not need me anymore. But... Maybe we should just keep this between us. At least until we figure out what this... What this is." His face heated and he knew there was a bright red coloring in his cheeks.

Mira frowned, wondering if she understood his words. "Do you really want to hide me? Are you worried about what others will say about you if you are around me?" She  
>whispered and rolled her head to the side. Had she read the signs wrong? She had thought he had enjoyed himself. Maybe that was all it was, nothing more. Pain gripped her stomach and threatened to drag her away.<p>

Natsu grabbed her chin and turned her towards him but she closed her eyes before she met his. She could bare to love him without him loving her, but there was no way she could even bear the thought of being used by him then thrown away when he found something that better suited his tastes. "Look at me Mira... Mira open your eyes..." He whispered. When she refused with a shake of her head he kissed her eyelids and pushed his lips to her forehead. When he summoned the courage, he spoke quietly while keeping her in his arms. "I could never be ashamed of being with you, it isn't possible Mira." Feeling her slow gulping breaths fill her lungs, he pushed back and saw as tears welled up under her eyes to pool at the corners and threaten to drop down her cheeks.

"Mira, please look at me." He pleaded, a lump forming in his throat that he couldn't seem to swallow past. Her eyes slowly fluttered open to look into his dark orbs and it almost killed him on the spot for making her feel this way. "I don't want to rush into this and have you regret that something happened between us. I can't lose you too. You mean too much to me to bear that..." His words came out slow and unsteady, but sincere.

She didn't know how to react; this was another side of Natsu that she had not seen before. He was always sure of himself, always ready to jump headlong into something without a second thought, and she had never seen him on the verge of tears. She nodded slightly and burrowed into his shoulder as he lay back down on his side. "Can you just hold me then?" She asked pulling herself closer to his chest. Natsu didn't answer her with words, choosing to let his actions answer as he wrapped his arms around her small frame and held her to him. He laid there and simply held her while her breathing slowed to an even pace before even trying to fall asleep himself.

Mira woke softly as warmth left her. She groaned at the loss and rolled over to see the Dragon Slayer standing at the edge of the bed looking down at her. She sat up slowly and subconsciously smoothed out her hair while waiting for him to say something. "Do you have any free time that you won't be around the guild today?" He finally asked. She shook her head and slid over to the edge of the bed closest to him, dangling her feet from the side. "No, I will be there all day... Maybe we could talk after?" She suggested. It was Natsu's turn to shake his head. "No... But I will find a way to get you alone." He answered. His hand cupped her cheek and ran small circles in the soft skin with his thumb. She closed her eyes and pushed her cheek into his hand. "Don't go far..." She whispered.

With a nod he dropped his hand and opened her window, a sharp breeze blowing into the room from the small opening. With a final pained look back at her, Natsu fled out the window. Natsu slipped back home in the still dark hours of the morning and forced himself to shower and change into a set of new clothes. He kept having flashbacks of the night prior. Of their kiss, of the feeling of her pressed to him, and most of all the sight of her tears. The very same set of tears that he had caused her. It was a small price to pay for finding the truth, especially if he could keep himself from making things worse and hurting her more in the future. Would it have simply been better for him to just stay away from her to keep from hurting her again, or would he only make things worse until they had a chance to talk it over. He shook his head and left for the guild, wondering absently where Happy was and if the blue cat had seen what he was doing. The cat had not exactly abandoned him, like his parents and adopted father Igneel, but he had left him all the same.

By the time Natsu had made his way to the guild just about everyone had shown up and the daily activities were in full swing. Gray muttered something to Natsu that caused the Dragon Slayer to spin around and glare  
>daggers at the ice mage. "Care to say that again squinty?" Natsu growled. "I said you were looking extra pathetic today flame brain." Gray retorted.<p>

Before either of them could make a move to attack, a gauntleted fist smashed into their heads. "It is too early for this boys. Now be good and act like friends!" Erza commanded. Both boys wrapped an arm around the other and gave a fake smile. But it was enough to appease the woman. Natsu shoved away from Gray and sat down at the bar next to Erza while Lisanna placed a large slice of cheesecake in front of her.

Natsu looked quizzically up at the woman before looking around the guild then back up. "Where's Mira today?" He asked, knowing the woman was never far from the counter except when she had to go to a photo shoot for one of the many magazines that adored her. Lisanna loomed down the bar then shrugged. "She said something about getting something from the cellar about an hour ago. Guess I haven't seen her since then." The  
>woman looked unphased that her sister was missing. "She will turn up eventually."<p>

After a few minutes Natsu slid off the bench and walked into the back room, finding it empty. "Hey!" He heard behind him. "Where do you think you're going?" He turned around to see Gray. "Bathroom, why? Wanna watch?" The ice mage snarled but waved him off before realizing the bathroom wasn't even close to the pantry. When he went back to confront the fire mage, Natsu was nowhere to be found. He shrugged and went back into the hall, realizing he was once again in his boxers. With a cry he frantically looked around for them.

Natsu peaked out of the cellar door on the floor to make sure everyone was indeed gone before going down into the darkness. "Oi... Mira you down here?" He called out as he descended, a small fire appearing in his hand. When he reached the bottom he found her sitting on the ground with her knees pulled to her chest, crying silently. Natsu lit a light just at the base of the stairs and went over to her  
>and touched her shoulder gently. "Mira...?" He asked quietly, causing her to jump and look up at him. She quickly wiped her eyes and smiled up towards him. "Sorry... I didn't hear you come down..." Natsu sat down beside her and pushed his back against the wall. "I'm sorry I hurt you." He said after a few seconds ticked by. He reached out and touched her shoulder to turn her towards him. Her eyes looked the same as they had previously the night prior. He kicked himself mentally and pulled her to him. She didn't fight it but she didn't warm up to him either.<p>

"What am I to you?" She asked finally. Natsu rubbed her back gently as he thought about how to answer her. "I can't just call you a friend. Friends leave after a time, move on in their own lives when they find something better. You have always been there if I needed to talk, or to simply be there when I needed to be around someone. I never had to ask you for anything... I never even had to explain myself to you when I did something wrong. I took you for granted, never thinking about what you needed. Now that I am, I  
>only seem to bring you pain. So what are you to me...? I don't know if it is love, but it is something more than a friend. Someone I can't lose..." Nothing seemed to be enough for him to say. But he wouldn't say something he didn't feel just to keep her from crying.<p>

"Then that's enough for now." She commented absently. Gripping the front of his vest she looked up into his eyes. "Will you still stay with me for a while? Let me help you figure out exactly what you feel..."

Natsu nodded and bent his neck to kiss her gently. "For as long as you will have me." He whispered. She didn't wait to see if he would say anything else. It was all she wanted to hear at that moment. She could work with that, she would show him how much he needed her. She would show him that she was enough for him. She kissed him back eagerly, curling her fingers into his hair. Tears ran down her face once again, but out of hope rather than despair. He had given her a chance at happiness. "Erza is going to kill me when she finds out I made you cry..." He said when they parted to get a breath of air.

She didn't give him a chance to suggest they go back, pressing her lips to his again softly as to savor the sweet feeling of his lips, gasping as his tongue brushed her lips. It gave him just enough space to slip inside her moist cavern. A shudder ran down her spine at the sensation of his tongue against hers. She pulled away when he took her hips in his hands and pulled her into his lap to get their bodies closer. He brought his lips to the base of her neck, leaving fiery wet kisses along her skin. She moaned at the feeling, tilting her head back to give him better access. She let out a cry of pleasure when she felt his teeth graze over her delicate skin.

"Mira?" A voice called from the top of the cellar and they could hear someone pulling the large door open. "Are you down here?"

Mira and Natsu quickly pulled themselves off one another and stood up. Natsu immediately grabbed a large barrel of beer and threw it up on his shoulder before wiping away a remaining tear from her eyes. 'We  
>can continue this later.' She thought, giving him an apologetic smile after being unable to keep her voice down when they were together. "Yeah, Natsu was helping me with a barrel and I tripped." She called over when she saw Erza standing at the base of the stairs.<p>

The scarlet haired woman didn't look convinced but let Mira walk past her before she saw the red circles around her eyes and wad about to question it but stopped at the pure smile that was on her face. While the two had held a rivalry for so long, she had come to respect the take-over mage to make her own decisions. There was obviously something going on between the two, but she would wait until a more suitable time came around to ask them anything. However, she did grab the Dragon Slayer's arm on his way out and squeeze it until pain entered the man's eyes before he could hide it. "I'll be watching." She growled before stomping up the steps.

-  
>Mira sighed heavily as she sat on the edge of the counter, eager for Lisanna to come back so she could take over. Mira wanted more time with Natsu, but had told her younger sister that she was not feeling well and wanted to go home. That was until a writer from sorceress weekly had come in begging for a chance at getting the yearly swimsuit going, wanting her to be their centerfold again. Makarov had seemingly appeared out of nowhere and told the man that she would do it. When she had tried to fight it, he had placed Erza in charge of her to assure she got it done.<p>

Once her sister had taken over Mira went home to change into her bathing suit with a skirt and short sleeved shirt over it. Erza had taken her job too seriously, even following her into her bedroom to watch her change. It had given Natsu no chance to intervene and keep her from doing the shoot. He didn't want her to do it, for obvious reasons. If he had the choice, he would have... The thought struck him. What would he have done to prevent it? He could always just hold her back, but Erza was preventing that. He couldn't sabotage the shoot, that would be too obvious. Then it hit him and he climbed up to her bedroom window just as she was finishing getting dressed. She froze when she saw him before Erza stepped in front of the window as she walked by. Luckily she had her back to him and didn't see him. He flashed up two fingers at Mira and mouthed for her to meet him in two minutes in the bathroom. It was embarrassing to be telling her to meet him in such a place, but he could talk to her alone in there. When she gave a subtle nod he dropped down and slipped into her house from the front door.

Mira entered the bathroom, and just as she had shut the door she found her back pressed against the wall. She barely stifled a moan as his lips took hers. She had to force herself to push him back, immediately regretting the decision as she missed the warmth of him against her. "I only have a moment..." She whispered. "What is so important that you had to meet me in here?"  
>Natsu blushed at her words and frowned. "I don't want you to do this. Don't ask me why... But I can't stand the thought of you being ogled by anyone while you are half naked for them..." He explained. "I know how to get you out of it, but you might not like it..." The Dragon Slayer let his hands and eyes fall and looked away. "I could leave a ... A mark on y-you so they wouldn't want t-to take your picture." He finally said, his voice cracking in embarrassment.<p>

Mira paled slightly at the idea. True it might postpone the shoot, but it would also raise questions. The thought of him giving her a love mark made her heart soar and she nodded slowly. "Only this once... And nowhere embarrassing." She added quickly.

Natsu jumped slightly in surprise at her agreement. Pressing her back against the wall he kissed her cheek and slowly made his way back her jaw and down her neck. She had to clamp a hand over her own mouth to keep silent, but her body arched into him. He finally stopped at the base of her neck and kissed it again. "Here?" He asked, feeling her shake her head. "It has to be somewhere they can't hide it." She whispered heatedly, whimpering as his lips trailed down further. She gripped her fingers into his hair when he pulled the collar of her shirt down until she stopped him. "There..." She whispered just as he stopped right above her swimsuit top. She felt his sharp teeth graze over her skin before he latched on tightly. After a moment he broke away leaving a good sized hickey ringed with a bite mark.

Mira pulled his lips up to hers and thrust her tongue into his mouth without a second thought. She wanted him then and there, her stomach churning with need. A knock rapped on the door and once again, Erza was ruining their moment together. "I will be right out!" She called through the door. Natsu captured her lips again and pressed his body into hers, in turn trapping her tightly against the wall. "I will be waiting for when you finish up..." He whispered her before kissing her a final time and ushering her out the door to lay his forehead against it while he calmed himself down.

Mira tried to breathe deeply while they walked towards the studio, jumping slightly when Erza asked her why she was breathing funny. She shook her head in response, not trusting her voice just yet. At the studio she had tried to explain her situation to the photographer quietly but he had made a big ruckus about how someone had defiled Mirajane's perfect body. Mira had blushed profusely and sprinted from the building with Erza tight on her trail. When the scarlet haired woman finally got her to stop, she began to pester her for answers. "Who did this to you?" Erza demanded.

"What does it matter? What is done is done."

"Was it Natsu?" Erza asked finally.

"So what if it was?" Mira admitted. "I told you I didn't want to do this shoot."

"Is this why you were crying earlier?"

Mira shook her head. "We decided to keep us a secret from everyone for a little while... And no he force me to do anything. But you have to promise to keep this between us!"

Erza folded her arms across her chest and raised an eyebrow. "And why do I need to do that?"

"Because I kept you and Jellal a secret!" Mira retorted angrily.

Erza stiffened and nodded. She hadn't even known that Mira knew about the two of them "F-fine... But I need to talk to him before I am okay with it."

Mira pushed her friend. "Over my dead body. I said to keep this between the two of us. That includes Natsu!"

Erza sighed and her shoulders drooped for a moment before fire lit in her eyes and she grabbed Mirajane. "If he _ever_ hurts you, you come directly to me. Together we will make him realize just how wrong he would be to harm someone like you."

Mira couldn't help but smile before she pushed the other away with a small giggle. "You know as well as I do that he would go to great lengths to keep from hurting any of his friends. I don't think we have to worry about him doing something we would all regret."

Erza stood there for a moment longer before she nodded and turned on her heel. "Then I'll leave it to you, but you might want to hide that mark or it won't be a secret for long."

Mira sighed again and nodded to no one in particular. She wanted to find Natsu and tell him that it had worked, that she didn't have to take the pictures. Not right now anyways, and that they would have to come up with another idea to keep her out of the spotlight for a little while.

It was a short trek to her house where she quickly changed into one of her usual dresses. She felt more comfortable in them; they gave her confidence when she didn't have any. She checked herself in the mirror, double checking that the mark he had left was hidden away and that her hair looked neat and tidy. About to leave, she stopped and quickly grabbed her toothbrush. She wanted to be ready in case the Dragon Slayer decided he had spent enough time away from her.

When she started to leave her place it struck her, she didn't even know where she could go to meet him, he had never said. 'Well, there are only a few places he could be.' She thought to herself before setting off in search of the man. She would have to check the guild first, and if that didn't pan out then she would have to go to his house and just hope he was there. And as much as it pained her to say, if he wasn't there then she would have to check Lucy's apartment. But, if she had gotten the right reading from him over the past two nights, she was too preoccupied with her new boyfriend. She hoped that the blonde was still preoccupied with him so she could steal Natsu away from her. If all played right, she would get him to reciprocate her feelings in no time.

As she walked, she could feel a pair of eyes on her, but cast off her worries. She was a mage of Fairy Tail; she could handle herself in a fight if it came down to it. Not to mention that everyone around town knew her and she was quite sought out among the male community. She bit her lip at the thought of Natsu getting jealous like he had today, but wondered what he would do, especially now since he wanted to keep them secret for the time being. If he started to act out he wouldn't be able to keep them a secret for long. Sighing, she stepped up her pace to the guild hall, only stopping by long enough to find out that he hadn't been there since they had left earlier for Mira's photo shoot. Several asked her why she was back so soon and she gave an off-hand reply, simply saying that she had not felt well and wanted to head back.

Outside the guild, she huffed out a breath and started walking towards Natsu's house. It got her thinking, how long had it been since she had actually shown up to his place? Well over a year, the last time she had been back there was when they had come back from Edolas and Lisanna had asked her to help look for him. That had been both a high point and a low point in her life. She had loved having her sister back, but she had stepped back even further from Natsu so her sister could try to get closer to the boy.

Mira stopped at the door to the run down house that Natsu and Happy lived. He really didn't take that good care of it, but it was still his home that he had built himself. When no answer came from her knock, she tested the handle and found it unlocked. She would have to sit down with him and explain to him that he needed to take better care of his house, and then she realized why he had left it unlocked. It looked like a tornado had gone through the house. Clothes were thrown about indiscriminately and there were trinkets littered across the floor. She noted that most of the objects on the ground were trophies of his past missions. She let herself in when she saw a wall covered in newspaper articles and bits of string.

A hand shot to her mouth at what she saw, at the tracking of his adopted father Igneel. He had taken every piece of information that was out there on the dragon and had tried to tie it together. She followed a few of them and felt pain grip her as every single one of them ended in a dead end. He really didn't have any family left did he; the thought brought more pain to her than she would have thought. She had both her brother and her sister as a part of her life. Sure he had the guild and all of the friends he had made there, but could any of them really stand up to the one person that had rescued him from being an orphan? Now, he was an orphan twice over.

She had to force herself away from the wall before she started crying. She thought she had needed him, but she didn't realize how much he needed _someone_. She could be that someone for him, give him a place to feel safe without having to worry about anything he did. To be accepted not just as a friend, but as family.

Physically shaking herself, Mira shut the door behind her and started to head towards town to continue her search for the spiky haired male. She almost missed a step when she felt another pair of eyes on her and quickly looked around her. Natsu had done only one thing with his house that she wished he hadn't; he had put it in the middle of the woods where he wouldn't be disturbed. While it was good for privacy, no one would hear her if someone attacked her right then. When she saw no one she shook her head and continued on, if at a faster pace than before.

She hadn't made it a dozen paces further before she heard something land softly behind her. As she tried to turn around she felt a gloved hand slip over her mouth to prevent her from screaming while another wrapped around her shoulders to pin her arms to her sides. She couldn't get a good look at the person over her shoulder because of the dim lighting in the woods, or the fact that he was wearing a hood to cover his eyes.

"You don't know how long I have been trying to get you to be alone so I could have you to myself." The man said, his voice rough. Hot breath blew against her ear as he spoke, sending chills down her spine, but no matter how hard she fought against him, she remained stationary. His arms were like bands of steel that kept her from moving. Suddenly the arms forced her to turn around and pushed her back into a tree, almost roughly. She gasped as the hand left her mouth only to be replaced by a pair of lips. The feeling caused her eyes to widen as she instantly knew who was holding her. She relaxed in the arms and snaked her hands as far around the figure as she could and pulled him closer when she only had enough reach to grab the cloak in her fists.

The arm holding her arms down dropped to her waist when it felt her stop struggling. Once her hands were free to do as she pleased, she reached into the hood and grabbed two handfuls of hair and pried the man back from her lips, causing his hood to fall. "What are you thinking Natsu?" She asked, breathing heavily. "You scared me for a minute…" She admitted.

Natsu laughed and took a step back. "I told you I would be waiting. When you came back I decided to follow you so no one would see us until I had you to myself."

"Then what is up with the getup?" She asked trying to get her breath back.

Natsu scratched his head for a second before sighing. "I didn't want anyone to see me follow you." The boy smiled over at her and shrugged. "So I take it the plan worked?"

Mira nodded and bit her lip. "It worked this time, but they said next time they will just put an article out about how I'm no longer available… So a new plan would be worth coming up with… Besides… If you wanted to make sure they didn't take pictures of me, all you would have to do is tell them so. They look up to you, you know? People wouldn't question it if you decided to stop them from taking pictures… Not if you told them about us anyways…"

Natsu sighed again and shook his head. "They don't respect me or look up to me. They fear me because of all the damage I do whenever we go on a mission. They know I don't have very good control when it comes to my friends. I might just destroy their happy little studio if they went against me. Besides, when it comes to you, I might not be able to stop myself if they don't do as I say."

Mira smiled despite what he was saying. She didn't want him to destroy anyone or anything for simply looking at her or wanting to see her, but the fact he was willing to go to such lengths to keep her to himself was touching and just made her want to keep him to herself all the more. She decided to just lean against him and savor his presence for the time being.

The silence wasn't uncomfortable, but exactly the opposite. Both of the mages enjoyed the simple fact that they could stand there together and just hold one another. Natsu was the first to break the silence. "I can't stay at your place tonight." He said sadly.

"And why not?" Mira asked looking quizzically at the fire breathing mage.

"I don't trust myself to not make a mistake. Okay maybe it wouldn't be a mistake, but I wouldn't be able to hold myself back from you if I was in a bed with you tonight… And it's just the first day we are trying to sort this out." He responded with a small smile.

"What if I told you I didn't want you to hold back, but instead insisted you do the opposite and let whatever happens happen?" She asked boldly, knowing full well what she was hinting at.

Natsu recoiled briefly at her choice of words. He laughed nervously and shook his head. "We couldn't do that anyways. Elfman would take my head from my shoulders if he ever found us in any sort of situation, let alone one of that extent."

Mira sighed and resigned to the fact that he was right, until they had a place to go that they could be alone without anyone questioning what they were doing or even a way to prevent them from being caught, it wasn't going to happen. She could offer to use his place, but the thought of having her first time with him be in that mess she shuddered and smiled.

They stood together, enjoying the silence, for only another hour before Natsu pulled back. "Let me get you home before it gets too late. I can at least do that much."

An idea sparked in her head and she pulled his hood back over his head, masking his features from any that didn't know who it was beforehand. "This way you can be next to me without anyone knowing it's you. You can be my mystery man." She giggled at the idea and took his gloved hand in her own before pressing it against her cheek, feeling the warmth of his body beneath the thin cloth.

Natsu laughed and smiled, wrapping his arm around her waist to pull her against him while they walked. He would never have thought it to work like that, but at least he could be around her for the time being.

Once out of the woods, the two could see everyone looking at them. People weren't even hiding their open astonishment at seeing Mirajane with a cloaked stranger. It made the two laugh gently, that was until they got to her doorstep. Elfman was just coming out as he saw them and he froze in his place, unable to see who was so close to his sister. "Mira-nee? Who is that with you?" He asked hesitantly before walking towards the two. Natsu almost jumped out of his skin, but leaned over to Mira and pressed his lips to hers briefly. "I'll see you in the morning, Mira. Don't go falling for someone else while I'm gone." He whispered. He kissed her again, much to the disbelief of her brother, and darted off in another direction to prevent from being caught by the large man.

Mira watched him go with sadness, and a little excitement at being so close to getting caught. "Mira-nee, who was that?" Elfman inquired again, more persistently this time. "I didn't know you were on a date today." Mira shrugged and shook her head, raising her palms in a helpless gesture. "I don't know who it was, never saw his face." She lied, but smiled regardless. "Maybe he will be back tomorrow and will show himself to us, maybe not. We will just have to see." To the further disbelief of her brother, she patted him on the shoulder and walked past him into the house. "I'll start dinner, go find Lisanna. And be quick about it, I've had a long day." Truth be told, she simply wanted to lie down so she could have some time to herself so she could get her racing heart under control.

Mira woke up with a small smile on her face, despite the disappointment at having to go to sleep alone the prior night. But, she didn't feel alone. Even with the distance between them, she could feel Natsu in her heart, or at least she could feel that he had given himself to her to try and get their worlds righted again. Maybe today she could get him to herself again, but she had doubts. Elfman wasn't far from her side on the trip to the guild, insisting he walk with her. She let him do as he pleased, knowing Natsu would already be waiting to get a glimpse of her at the guild anyways.

Just when she was getting the guild in sight, she froze. He was indeed there, but he wasn't alone. Lucy was wrapped around him, sobbing into his shoulder while he comforted her. She forced her feet to move, drawing closer to them, but attempting to ignore the two. They were friends; she didn't have to worry about Lucy. Natsu wasn't the type of guy… Her thoughts were interrupted when Lucy reached up and pressed her lips tightly to Natsu's, tears still streaming down her cheeks.

Mira felt everything around her crash as her worst case scenario was panning out ahead of her; she was losing him again to one of the women in his life. She wasn't expecting to see Natsu push the blonde from him only a moment after his surprise wore off. Lucy looked even more hurt and hit him in the chest and Mira forced herself to resume her walk towards the two, if a little slower than before.

Natsu stepped back from Lucy and frowned at her, hurt beyond words. "What, am I suddenly not good enough for you?" Lucy cried at him, stepping forward once again causing him to take a step back.

Natsu stopped and gave her a look of defeat. "Quite the opposite Luce… I'm obviously not good enough for you. I'm only good enough to be here for you when you have no one else to fall back on…" He said, still unaware that Mira had seen everything go down.

"What do you mean? I'm here aren't I?" She said, her words barely coming out between her sobs.

"I won't be anyone's second choice. Not their third, or their fourth, or their tenth." He said quietly. "Not even for you Luce. If I wasn't good enough to get you from the beginning, why would I be good enough now?"

Lucy grabbed his jacket and collapsed against him. "But you promised me you would always be here whenever I got hurt, no matter how many times it happened." The hand on her chin forced her to look up at him and he forced out a small smile. "I'll always be here for you Lucy, I will always be here as a shoulder to cry on, or a shoulder to lean on for support whenever you need it." He hugged her close and rubbed her back. "But I can't be yours romantically… If you weren't so hurt right now you wouldn't be trying this. You wouldn't see me in the way you think you do now."

Lucy nodded against his chest, knowing he was probably right. To her he had always been there, but he had never shown any feelings towards her. And despite how many times she had gone to him because of a bad date or boy troubles, he had never offered himself as a replacement. "If you change your mind…" She said quietly. "I want you to tell me so we can work through it together okay?"

Natsu smiled and nodded down at her. Her eyes widened as it seemed to hit her. Any other day he would have let her kiss him, and then simply helped her realize what she was doing wasn't what she wanted. "You don't have anyone do you?" She asked hesitantly, but boldly.

Natsu flinched when he saw Mira walk past; giving him a small smile at the exact instant Lucy had asked him. "If I said I did, would that change anything between us?" He asked the blonde, who shook her head. "I'll always be here for you Lucy; I'll always be a rock when you need one. But I won't be yours… I may have found my chance to get a family of my own."

Lucy smiled finally and hugged herself to Natsu. "Promise to introduce me to her sometime? I won't make it awkward, like I did today. I'm sorry I acted like this…" Natsu shook his head and turned her towards the guild. "Don't apologize; you're too hot headed for it anyways..."

Mira felt a swell of pride at the fact that Natsu had turned down the blonde, if somewhat sad for the girl that she had been turned down so pointedly. As soon as the two were seated in a booth, Mira brought over a pair of hot chocolates and some sweets for the two. "You both look like you could use something sweet to take your minds off whatever you are thinking about."

The two thanked Mira and Natsu gave her a small smile, flashing his canines briefly. The sight made the woman grow red again and spin on a heel to rush off back to the counter. She tried to stop herself from watching Natsu, but caught herself watching him every so often anyways. His eyes always caught hers whenever she found herself looking in the general direction of the Dragon Slayer.

Natsu never left the celestial mage's side though, being her rock as he had promised. In return, the blonde had laid her head on his shoulder while they ate their snacks. "Why don't we go on a job?" He asked her quietly, trying to get his own mind off relationship issues. Maybe some time away from Mira would be good and allow himself time to calm down enough that they could decide on what they were going to do next. He stood up and walked over to the message board, grabbing an easy one that would only leave them being away from the guild for a day or so. He gave the job to Mira to place in the record book, but was surprised when she grabbed his scarf roughly. "We'll be right back Lucy; I need to borrow your friend here for a moment."

Despite his protests, Mira drug him behind her to the pantry and out of sight. As soon as she was sure they were out of sight she shoved him into the wall. "I trust you not to do anything, but hurry back okay?" She pressed her lips to his hungrily, stealing his breath. "We can continue where we left off the second you get back. By the way, give me your house key. I should have a spare anyways for whenever I need to find you."

Natsu nodded dumbly and gave over his key, feeling the air between them boil away. "I'll be back soon Mira… Be safe." Leaning over, he kissed her again, slowly but passionately. He left her gasping as she wanted more; smiling at the fact that he had that effect on her.

He cupped her cheek for only a moment before heading back into the other room, slumping his shoulders as if he had just been reprimanded. He took Lucy's hand and pulled her out of the guild, ready to get the job underway.

The job had taken far longer than it should have, the simply monster slaying had turned into an extermination of a large grouping of monsters. The only good thing to come out of it was he had further strengthened his bond with his partner. Lucy no longer expected him to reciprocate her feelings, realizing that she had reacted out of sorrow and not wanting to get hurt any more than out of actual longing for the Dragon Slayer. She knew they were friends, strong friends but nothing more.

She immediately went home and dropped onto her bed, only staying awake long enough to see him cover her with blankets and head towards her window. She missed when he had slept with her, but knew he was itching to see his mysterious woman. She had been unable to get him to say anything about her except that she knew the woman.

Natsu smiled back at her and slipped out the window without another word. He all but ran home so he could get changed. Luckily his door was unlocked and he threw his bag in the corner. He stopped just a few steps inside and looked around. Someone had cleaned his house, from top to bottom. His chests were no longer open and overflowing with random objects, but organized nicely on one side of the room. They had also organized the wall he had designated for Igneel. It looked nice, and brought a smile to his face as he thought about how much work it had been.

With a sigh, he walked into the bathroom, finding Mira standing in front of the mirror in only a towel. They both froze before he slammed the door shut between them. "Sorry!" He said through the door to her. "I didn't mean to…. Well walk in on you…" He answered with a smile. He didn't care that she was in his house, didn't care as to why she was just in a shower at his place. He was simply happy to see her.

The door opened quickly in front of him and Mira jumped out of the small room into his arms, still only wearing the towel. He caught her and hugged her tightly, "I missed you, Natsu…" She said giggling. "But…" She said burying her face in his neck. "We may have a bit of a problem…"

Natsu laughed and kissed the top of her head. "I'll say, you're pretty much naked. Go put some clothes on while I get cleaned up." He moved to pull away from her but she didn't let him go. "You still haven't given me a kiss yet." She said blushing.

Natsu leaned in and gently took her lips in his, tasting her lips against his own. The kiss was nothing more, not hungry or passionate, simply comforting. He wanted to show her how much he missed her, at how much he simply missed her presence.

When she was satisfied, she pulled away and blushed harder, holding her towel close to herself to be sure that she wouldn't drop it before stepping back into the bathroom to get dressed. Natsu instead went to the kitchen and splashed water in his face and changed in his room into a pair of light shorts and a fresh vest, his scarf ever on his neck as it always did, never seeming to get dirty.

He had just taken a seat on his bed when he realized something; there was a bed in his room. No longer just his and Happy's hammocks, but a bed. He tried to puzzle out how it had gotten there and all his answers came back to Mira. She had cleaned his house, and now, it seemed she had brought a bed and was changing there. Maybe they had more to discuss than he thought. Had something happened while he was gone?

His thoughts were interrupted when Mira walked into the room, a long one strapped dress over her shoulders. She dropped the towel into a hamper, another addition to the room he hadn't noticed. "Mira?" He asked, still sitting on the bed. "What's going on?"

Suddenly Mira had tackled him to the bed, pressing her lips against his roughly with her body pressed against his. She had missed the feeling of his lips, of the almost uncomfortable heat they held within them. "Like I said… We may have a problem."

Natsu lay back on the bed and stared at the ceiling, his arms folded behind his head as he ran everything through his head that she had told him. Happy had caught her at the house cleaning, claiming Natsu had asked her to tidy up for him. When the Exceed didn't buy it, she offered to buy his silence with food, fish to be exact. Happy agreed not to say anything so long as she kept up her end of the deal, in which she was more than happy to do.

Rolling his head, he raised an eyebrow at the mage. "So tell me again, why are you staying here?" She blushed and cast her eyes into her lap as she sat against the wall on the bed. "With Elfman getting wind of me being in a relationship, he vowed to find out who it was… So I figured instead of sneaking you over, I could stay here every so often. I told him I was going to stay with a friend for a few days, but didn't tell him where. Then I got to missing you, your smell, but mainly just your presence… So in a way I didn't lie to him, I just didn't tell him the whole truth…" She stopped when she heard a low growl coming from the man lying beside her. "Is that okay?"

Catching the eyes of the ivory haired mage, Natsu grabbed her and rolled over with her, pressing his lips over hers. "Better than okay… Now we don't have to hide or try to keep quiet." His voice was rough yet quiet as it sent chills down her spine. "What do you mean keep quiet?" She asked hesitantly.

Natsu responded with his actions, kissing the base of her neck, grazing his teeth across her perfect skin until he nipped at it causing her to squeak. She slipped her arms around his neck and pushed him against her neck further, tilting her head to give him more skin to play with. She moaned when his tongue touched her skin, leaving a wet trail along her jaw. Lightning jolted through her nerves at the feeling of him kissing her ear, sucking her earlobe into his mouth briefly. "No one can interrupt us here, Mira. This can be out sanctuary, our own private place to do as we please…" He whispered seductively to her.

Mira arched against him, moaning aloud at his words. The past week of frustration and longing swarmed over her, finally finding the object of her desires within her grasp. "You have to keep your promise."

Natsu pulled away from her and stared into her eyes. "I won't leave Mira. Not now that I have you this close. Not when I see exactly what I want from you… **_Everything_**." The fire mage leaned in and kissed her, Mira leaping up into his lips with a kiss of her own, her efforts renewed at his words. She used the brief moment of their lips touching to roll him over so she was on top of him. Putting her hands on his chest, she pushed back until she was sitting on his lap while he lay there, helpless to whatever she wanted to do to him. She couldn't help but grin at her luck, at the person she had managed to claim as her own.

It was her time to tease him, to bring him towards that need that she herself was fighting down, trying to stay in control of her emotions. Her hands slipped under his vest, pushing it away from his chest. Her lips met with the rough skin of his shoulders first, feeling the solid muscle beneath the skin. She took her time as she made her way down him, tracing every muscle with her lips, tasting every piece of him that she could. She moved in time with his body, waiting until he had sucked in a breath to stop, only to bite him when he thought she was taking a break, a hiss leaving his mouth as air forced its way past his teeth.

She traveled clear down to his pants, teasing him every inch she moved. She wanted this moment to last. While she believed it wouldn't be the only time they would be together like this again, they could never have a first time together. Not in the same sense anyways. He hadn't been her first kiss, but he would be her first intimate partner, her first at a lot of things tonight. She was bound and determined to get what she wanted, but he was going to pay for every second of it.

A low growl rumbled around them when she hooked her fingers into the waistband of his pants, causing her to look up. The look in Natsu's eyes made need pool in her stomach, giving her the strength she needed to remove them. Her breath caught in her throat when she pulled back to see him in just a pair of boxers, his muscular body straining against his mental bonds preventing himself from taking over. He hated that she was in charge thus far, but it turned him on to find that she had this amount of power over him.

Mira's hand shook slightly as she stared at his boxers, noticing the slight bulge in them. She reached for him, watching his reaction when she brushed up against his semi-hard erection. His body shook as her fingers wrapped around his length despite the thin fabric between their skin. "Not fair…" He managed to say hoarsely. She ignored his protests, wanting to feel her in the palm of her hand, reaching through the small slit in the front of his boxers. He moaned audibly when she once again wrapped her delicate fingers around his growing length. She was surprised at the heat his length was producing, sure that if she touched it long enough it would burn her. That only enticed her more, sliding her hand along the length, feeling it grow beneath her fingers.

"Please…" Came a struggling voice from the Dragon Slayer. "I shouldn't be the only one undressed… Let me…" His words were cut off when Mira removed his boxers to stare at his erection. Heat spread across his face as embarrassment flooded his senses, but he remained motionless under her gaze.

Mira turned scarlet, but didn't falter, instead gripping him gently while paying attention to his reactions. It wasn't the first time she had seen one before, but it was the first time she had seen one so big, or on purpose for that matter. Her curiosity overcame her conscious thought as she brushed her hair over her shoulder. Her lips met his length, traveling along it to get acquainted with the sensation. Her tongue snaked out experimentally, feeling Natsu's body tense with a hiss of breath.

She smiled to herself at her accomplishments before sucking the tip of him into her mouth. The strong taste overwhelmed her as she dove deeper on the throbbing member. "Mira, stop!" He groaned out. "If you continue… I won't be able to…" His whole body shook as he lost his words in what she was doing. She doubled her efforts, bobbing up and down on his length until she felt a pair of hands push her deeper onto him, his hips thrusting up to burry himself into her mouth. She willingly accepted him, flinching slightly at the sudden sensation of his seed filling her mouth. She took everything he gave her, swallowing greedily.

A pair of hands grabbed her by her shoulders and pulled her up, forcing her lips against Natsu's. His tongue invaded her mouth, tasting remnants of himself on her lips. Their tongues fought for dominance as their kiss deepened, both of them trying to get closer to the other. Her hands snaked around his neck, digging sharply into the sensitive skin. The Dragon Slayer slid his own hands down her sides, wanting to feel her soft skin beneath his calloused fingers. Somehow his fingers found the buttons at the back of her dress and started to undo them. Despite his impatience and need to feel her, he tried not to break any of the buttons off. As soon as they were undone, the woman pushed herself off his chest, sitting on his hips to take the dress off. No sooner did the fabric hit the floor than did Natsu latch onto her neck with his lips.

Natsu quickly reversed their roles, taking charge over her body, throwing her down on her back on the bed, kneeling over her with his body only inches from hers. Looking down between them at how close they were, he clenched his teeth in anticipation. Leaning close, he licked the sensitive skin just below her ear, kissing gently. "My turn." He said in a near growl against her skin. He let a hand run up her side while he trailed kisses down her neck, pausing briefly at her collarbone, biting gently. His hand faltered when it was met with the unclothed skin of her breast. She arched into him, pushing her soft skin into the palm of his hand with a moan.

The Dragon Slayer cupped her breast in his hand, squeezing it gently to test her reaction. She squirmed under him but didn't stop him so he took that as permission to continue, pressing his lips to the other breast. She mewled at his touch, grabbing his head between her hands and pressing him roughly against her breast. A soft cry escaped her when he brushed over her nipple with his lips and he sucked it into his mouth, flicking it with his tongue. His thumb and forefinger caught her other between them and twisted, pulling it gently.

Pulling away from her breast, he released it with an audible pop. He looked up in her eyes, seeing them closed, her lips parted slightly in anticipation. "Mira." He called out quietly to her as he made his way further down her body, waiting until she opened her eyes to watch him. Lust filled eyes caught his, locking onto his actions and biting her lip. Natsu licked his lips when he slipped his fingers into the edges of her panties, holding her eyes in his while he slowly drew the last of her clothing off her body. Kneeling close to her, he picked up one of her legs, kissing her ankle. He kissed the inside of her knee, putting his hands on both of her knees, seeing them pressed together to hide her core from him. "Let me see you." He commanded, causing her to shudder. Giving her knees a little pressure, he felt her resistance give way to his actions. She averted her eyes and blushed brightly.

"You're beautiful." He said looking down at her body and its entirety. Natsu slid his body back further and continued his conquest, kissing his way up the inside of her legs, growing ever closer to her core. She sucked in a deep breath through her teeth as his breath nipped at her lower lips. The Dragon slayer was bound to bring her the pleasure she had brought him, wanting to fill his home with her screams. Goosebumps appeared over her skin when his lips brushed over her, filling her with need. She continued to watch him in between her legs, shaking in pleasure as he ran a tongue over her.

Natsu pushed gently on her thighs, spreading her legs to give him more room. He slipped a finger into her just as his lips locked on the bundle of nerves. He had long ago given up his conscious thoughts, letting his need and letting curiosity take him over. Her body pressed against him, egging him on. "Natsu…" She moaned. He ignored her, entranced by her body. He slipped another finger into her, spreading her lips gently. Her legs wrapped around his shoulders at the same time her hands wove into his pink locks, pressing him into her. She cried out at the feeling of his tongue pierce into her core.

She screamed as her climax rolled over her, pulling Natsu's hair painfully against her. She almost regretted it, almost. She collapsed back against the bed while Natsu lapped up her fluids, moaning in ecstasy at the taste. Every touch of his body brushing across her skin sent another wave of pleasure through her body until she felt his lips capture hers, lovingly tender. The kiss melted her, a tear threatening to fall from her eye. "Are you sure about this?" He asked her brushing the tear from her eye.

Mira nodded with a smile. "Could you stop even if I wasn't?" She prodded teasingly, wrapping her arms around his neck. She pressed her cheek into Natsu's warm hand and closed her eyes. "For you I could." He answered. "Anything for you..." Mira giggled and kissed his palm. "Then what are you waiting for, Mr. Dragon Slayer? I never told you to stop… But be gentle, it's my first time…"

Swirling his thumb on her cheek, Natsu pressed his lips to hers again before repositioning himself between her legs. She gasped at the feeling of him at her entrance. Pressure filled her, stretching her walls to accept his length. He was moving agonizingly slow, letting her adjust before moving any further. He froze when he reached the thin membrane. She pulled him down against her, burying her head in his shoulder as she tensed up. "Just do it, but wait until I give you the go ahead to move anymore…" She whispered against his skin. Clenching his teeth, Natsu forced his hips forward, burying himself entirely into her. Mira cried out in pain, biting down on his shoulder to keep herself from whimpering.

Natsu stayed true to his word, simply holding her while she let herself get used to him. "I'm sorry…" He whispered into her ear. She shook her head and kissed his shoulder, tasting blood on her lips from where she had bit him. "Just let me…" Mira said with a moan as she rolled her hips against his. The pain had dissipated slightly, being replaced by a spark of pleasure. She was uncomfortable with his length stretching her as it was, but it was bearable. Rolling her hips again, she felt him withdraw from her. She wrapped her legs around him, thinking he was going to leave her, but whimpered when he pushed back into her.

Slowly, the pace started to pick up as the both of them moved in time with one another. The Dragon Slayer moved as if too much would cause her pain, as if he would break her in half if he tried anything more. She gasped when his hand found her breast, grabbing it roughly and kneading it with his hand. "Faster Natsu… Faster!" She cried out. A small scream pierced her as her lover slammed into her. She lifted her hips to meet his next thrust and screamed again as he hit an unknown spot inside her that sent pleasure rolling through her. "Right there! Oh Mavis, Natsu, right there!"

Natsu could feel the similar build up that he had before, indicating that he was about to reach his climax. "Mira, I'm about… I'm about to..!" He moaned. Her legs tightened around his waist as she felt her own climax clawing it's way at her. "Together… Let's cum together!" She screamed as her walls tightened around him, forcing him over the tipping point. He bucked into her, growling as he filled her with his seed.

He collapsed next to her with a groan, thankful for the bed that she had brought over. He pulled her against him and kissed her forehead. "That was incredible, Mira."

Mira pressed her head against his chest and smiled. "You know… we didn't end up using any protection… I could get pregnant."

Natsu laughed and ran his hand down her back. "Not today you can't." His voice brought her head around, looking up at him quizzically. "What do you mean not today?"

The Dragon Slayer shook his head, unsure about how to explain it. He tapped his nose and nodded down to her. "I can tell. Something Igneel taught me before he left." Mira laughed herself and nodded, it would be good to know when she was able to get pregnant so they could decide on when was the right time. If he chose her that was, but after tonight, she didn't have any worries that he might change his mind and go back to another. "I love you Natsu." She said, finding courage somewhere within herself.

Natsu smiled down at her but remained silent for a time, finally opening his mouth to say something but was stopped when she put a finger over his mouth. "You don't have to say something you don't mean just to make me happy. In time I hope I can make you come to love me as much as I do you…" The Dragon Slayer kissed her finger and shook his head. "No, I have to say something… And while I may not know exactly how deeply this feeling runs in me, or how long it will take me to understand it… I do love you Mira, but that isn't all. Over the past week without being around you, I grew anxious that I couldn't see you; it prevented me from fighting in a way… I reserved myself a little; always vigilant for any sign that could be the end. I couldn't stand the thought of not making it back to you."

Mira rolled over on top of the mage and kissed him. "I couldn't ask for anything more."

With a yawn, Natsu wrapped his arms around her and stood up. "Come on, we need to get ready. We should head to the guild before anyone gets suspicious." Mira giggled and wrapped her arm around his neck when he lifted her from the bed. He carried her over to the shower and turned the water on before setting her inside of it. As soon as her feet touched the ground, she stepped back to prevent her hair from getting wet. It would take too long to dry out and she assumed they did not have the time before he wanted to take her to the guild.

She had just started to clean herself when Natsu stepped in behind her, his arms wrapping around her to grab her breasts and pull her to his chest. "I could grow used to having you whenever I want." He hissed near her ear. Arching into him, she smiled. "Then why don't we hurry back and you can do with me as you please?" She whispered to him, feeling his erection against her backside.

He groaned and kissed her neck, sighing as he knew that she was right. It was his idea in the first place to have them head to the guild today. He pushed against her harder, licking her neck. "Wear something easy to take off."

They quickly cleaned themselves off before and got dressed. Natsu grabbed his cloak and tossed it over his shoulders as they headed out the door. Despite how much he wanted to hold her close while they walked, he stopped himself. He needed to keep them a secret for now, and it wasn't about him. What would they think if they saw her with him, would they even think to ask why, or would they simply assume he had tricked her in some way? She was the beauty of the guild, one of the most beautiful women in Magnolia.

Mira kissed his cheek just outside the guild doors, but once they were open she stepped back and made her way over to the counter. Instead of following her, Natsu walked over to where Erza and Gray were sitting and joined them. "Oh it feels good to be back!" He called out leaning on the table.

Erza and Gray spun on him and looked at him briefly. "Lucy tells me you have a girlfriend, but wouldn't tell her." Gray said, Erza scoffing at the idea while trying to pretend she didn't know anything. "Natsu couldn't get a girl, let alone know what to do with one whenever he found one to deal with him."

Gray looked over at Mira and noticed she was watching the trio, "Maybe Mira knows more about it?" He offered, only to get a gauntleted fist to the back of the head. "You think if Mira knew anything about it, she wouldn't tell anyone? She is the biggest gossip here." Natsu laughed as he said the words, knowing under any other circumstances she would have spread the word like her life depended on it.

Natsu leaned over the table and motioned them to lean in as well. "Don't tell anyone, but Mira recently… Let's just say had a falling out with her boyfriend… She didn't want to go to Elfman because he would have blown it out of proportion." He looked them both in the eye, making especially sure to get Erza's attention. "Keep this to yourself, but she is staying with me for a few days. Says a friendly face can help her through this…"

Erza spit up a piece of the cake she was trying to chew before she could catch herself. The two looked at her quizzically, but she stood up and walked away, heading directly for the take-over mage. She grabbed the woman and started to drag her off. When they were far enough away, she spun around on her. "You're staying with him?" Erza snapped at Mira.

Mira recoiled, confused. "W-what? Staying with whom?"

Erza gave her a dead stare, "You know good and well who. It is indecent!"

Mira blushed and cast her eyes down. "There is nothing wrong with a man and a woman staying in the same home. Much less so if the two are adults and can make their own choices."

"Then why keep it a secret any longer? What could you hope to accomplish by hiding such a thing?"

Mira pushed her on the shoulder at that comment. "And what good will it do to pretend you hate the one person you love? What good will it do to get everyone else to hate him so?" She pointed out to the scarlet haired mage. With that, Mira stepped away from the other, stopping when she was just past her. "Thank you for worrying, but we can take care of one another for now. Maybe soon we will tell everyone."

Natsu lay down on the bench and closed his eyes. It was nearly reaching midday and he could barely keep his eyes open. "Natsu?" He heard someone say, a smile slowly spread across his lips. "Natsu, you can't sleep here." The voice persisted when he didn't move. He felt hair fall over him, pooling around his head as the woman leaned closer to him. "And why can't I sleep here Mira?" He asked, his eyes opening to look hers. A sly smirk crossed her lips as she licked them. "Because I know of something better you can do with your time."

"Oh, care to elaborate on that?" He asked raising an eyebrow. No one was paying any attention to them, but he wouldn't have cared at that moment. She was the only thing in his sights. "I'd rather show you." She whispered before pressing her lips to his. Before anyone could notice what they were doing, she pulled away and covered him with his own cloak. "If you can find me, I'll give you something." She whispered before straightening and walking away.

Natsu sat there in the darkness of his cloak listening to her footsteps fall as she walked away. He had indeed picked the right person, though he never would have guessed how forward she was once she got her teeth into something she wanted. A thought passed him over, how far was she willing to take this game of hers before they got caught.

After waiting a few minutes, Natsu himself rolled off the bench and stretched. The hard surface really could do a number on his back, but it was better than the floor. His eyes searched the room and quickly found her, she wasn't hiding. But, she wasn't in a spot that he could readily get to her without someone taking notice. He grinned, eagerly accepting the challenge she proposed. Either expose their relationship in order to get to her, or simply steal her away when no one was looking. He could manage that, but it would take a little more effort than he had initially thought.

Throwing the hood over his head, he walked over to the bar and sat down, then placed his head on the counter, further hiding himself from view except to those that knew it was him. Which was practically everyone except the most blind individuals. He waited a few moments, letting himself listen to the footsteps and conversations around him. When he had the placement of most people in his mind, he stood up and headed directly for Mira. She gave him a questioning look with a raised eyebrow.

He gave her a smile and walked right past her. As soon as he was past, a small fire burst up from where he had been sitting for a few minutes. All eyes spun to the spot, confused. It only took a moment for everyone to react, but it was enough for the fire to spread across the counter. When everyone started moving, Natsu moved as well. He silently put a hand over Mira's mouth and the other around her stomach before dragging her backwards, kicking and trying to scream past his hand. In a flash, he had drug her into a nearby hall, kicking open a door. He pushed the door closed and locked it.

The woman tried to spin around in his arms, but he held her firmly against his chest with an arm around her middle. "You wanna play a game?" He whispered into her ear. Still preventing her from moving, he slid his free hand away from her mouth and over her breast. She moaned quietly at his touch but brought her own hand up to her mouth. "That's right Mira, we don't want anyone to come searching for you if you make those sounds now do we?"

Mira pushed her chest into his hand, her other hand reaching over her shoulder to grab Natsu's hair. She strained her head over and pulled his lips to hers. "Are you just going to tease me, or do you plan on doing something about it?" She whispered quietly. He smiled and finally let her turn around before pushing her back into a wall. He crushed his lips over hers while she pulled him close. Thankful she had worn the short dress, he ran his hands up her legs to cup her ass, lifting her off the ground to pin her between the wall and himself. Her legs quickly wrapped around his waist. She didn't waste any time in unbuttoning his pants, letting gravity drop them to the ground.

"I want you…" She whispered in his ear. He smiled against her shoulder, using one hand to drop his boxers. Once they were out of the way, he reached between them and moaned when his hand rolled over her panties. "You're already wet, Mira… Does this excite you that much? The chance to get caught?" He whispered. He couldn't wait to get them off of her, so he ripped them off instead and tossed them out of the way.

She whimpered quietly as he slid himself inside of her. Though they had only been together once before, she had missed the feeling of him filling her. "Don't be gentle…" She whispered as he rolled back. Locking her lips with his shoulder, she moaned as he slammed into her. The action caused her to hit the wall roughly. His hips rocked back and forth, forcing a cry from her lips every time he slammed into her. Her hands dove into his vest, wrapping her arms around his back and clawing at his rough skin.

Natsu dug his fingers into the soft supple skin of her backside, "Mira… You're so tight… I don't know how much longer I can hold out." He said quietly, groaning as he felt her teeth on his skin.

"Don't hold back." She moaned, rolling her hips against him, trying to coax his climax out. She gasped as his thumb massaged over her bundle of nerves. She bit her lip and laid her head against the wall. His spare hand immediately snapped to her lips when he felt her start to tighten up. No sooner did her cover her mouth than did she bite down on it to prevent herself from screaming aloud. Throwing his hand from her body, she pressed her lips to his, sliding her tongue into his mouth forcibly.

He kissed her back just as passionately. Their mouths slanting against one another to get closer, to delve deeper into one another's mouths. He moaned against her lips, thrusting into her a final time to fill her once again with his seed. She broke the kiss to press her forehead to his and smiled. Despite how happy she felt, she couldn't help but feel like a fool. "I never thought I would ever do this here, especially with everyone just down the hall…" She admitted.

Natsu wrapped an arm around her waist and gently let her down to the ground. "It's your fault for teasing me like you did." He said with a laugh. "I wouldn't have let myself live it down if I did nothing about it." After he pulled his pants back up, he wrapped his arms around her, pressing his lips to her neck, leaving a mark. She pushed him away with a giggle, not realizing what he had done. "You head out first; I'll be right behind you." He said, opening the door for her with a wink.

Mira ran her fingers through her hair to ensure it looked decent as she walked down the hall. The small fire had been fixed and everything was back to normal as she slipped behind the counter. "Need another piece of cake Erza?" She asked with a smile. The mage sat there staring at her, eyes widening as they met the mark on her neck. "Mira?" Erza said slowly. "Were you by chance with Natsu just a moment ago?"

Mira cocked her head to the side and raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, why do you ask?" A loud clatter brought her head around to look at her brother, who was sitting on the floor, pointing at her. "D… did he… did you…?"

Natsu came out of the back room with a grin on his face and grabbed her hand. "We should go, he's gonna be pretty mad in a second."

Mira looked over her shoulder at her brother again, seeing his face grow angry. "I'll kill you for defiling my sister!" He roared.

Natsu pulled Mira into a kiss before letting her go. "You were right; it was about time they found out."

**As always, please R & R! **

**Any and all criticism will prompt me to write more!**

**I appreciate you taking the time to read this! **


	2. Lines Drawn

**I do not own Fairy Tail, Hiro Mashima does.**

**Now, I know this isn't even close to as long as the previous chapter. As many of you know this was meant to be a one-shot. I put up a vote to see what people would say and what they would prefer from me. The response was overwhelming, far more people responded than I had anticipated. I will be continuing with my primary story (Love, Rejection, and a Disappearance) but I will be working on this FanFic as well. The two are in no way related and what happens in one will not affect the other. Enjoy =]**

Natsu cried out in surprise as a hand grabbed the back of his scarf and pulled him back, causing him to lose his footing and tip back. His arms wind milled as he felt the world turn upside down, grabbing at anything he could get his hands on to prevent himself from falling any further. He resigned to the fact that he would hit the floor and braced himself. The owner of the hand that had pulled him back had other ideas and held onto his scarf, bringing him to a half mere inches from the ground only to strangle him in the position he was stuck in.

"Let me go!" He whined, looking up to see Erza glaring down at him. A squeak left his lips and he rolled in her grasp to try and shuffle away from her. She planted a foot on his back as he attempted to get away.

"Just where do you think you are going?" Erza said coolly, an evil smile spreading over her lips.

"Home?" He answered weakly. Erza raised an eyebrow at the cowering Dragon Slayer. "But we were just about to celebrate your newfound relationship."

Natsu groaned and looked around for help, help from anyone. He caught sight of Mira not far off, but could see she was in a battle of her own with her overprotective brother. He was brought back to the task at hand when Erza ground into his back with her boot.

"So what exactly were you two doing that would cause Mira to have such an unsightly mark?" The knight's voice came out sweet, but a single look at her said otherwise as a dark aura covered her features.

"Well you see... We were... How do I put this..." He babbled, trying to come up with an excuse that wouldn't leave him beaten within an inch of his life. Just trying to think of a way out brought flashbacks of their time together and he felt a thin line of blood drip down his nose.  
>"Pervert!" Natsu's eyes widened as Erza's gauntleted fist descended down onto his face. The Dragon Slayer slumped to the ground, no longer able to fight back as darkness took over his mind.<p>

xXxXxXxXxXx

"I can take care of myself Elfman." Mira said folding her arms below her breasts.

Elfman threw his hands in the air at the comment. "It isn't about you taking care of yourself. It is about it being indecent of a woman to walk around with marks on her body!" He refused to shrink back under his sister's glare.

Mira waved a dismissive hand and stormed over to the unconscious Dragon Slayer and grabbed him by his collar to pull him from Erza's grasp. "I'm not done with him yet." The knight growled, glaring at Mira.

Mira smiled wickedly and pulled on the man they were having a tug of war with. "Neither am I."  
>Erza's face brightened enough to match the color of her hair as she blushed. She pulled back, letting go of the pink haired man.<p>

Mira's smile changed at the sudden removal of her challenger and started to drag Natsu away. She giggled slightly as she left the guild hall, casting a haunting smile back at everyone watching her before slamming the doors shut.

Makarov twisted the end of his mustache and stared at the door for a moment. "I don't know whether to be proud of the boy, or to fear what will happen to him when he wakes up." Gildarts barked a laugh and slapped the old man on the back. "He never did do anything the easy way."

xXxXxXxXxXx

Natsu groaned at the feeling of rocks and dirt scraping along his ankles, looking over his shoulder at the woman dragging him. She noticed his movements and stopped to look down at him as well, her smile still plastered on her lips. A shudder ran down his spine at the eerily happy smile she wore, feeling something hiding behind it. "You can let me go now, I can walk..." He suggested. He flinched back as her hand left his scarf, expecting a hit. He looked up at her and saw she was merely offering her hand to help him stand.

He took her hand and pulled himself to his feet before dusting himself off. He cried out in surprise when her fist connected with his temple, knocking him down once again. "What the hell, Mira?" He growled getting to his feet once again.

"Next time warn me before you pull something like that!" She cried out throwing herself at him, gripping his vest in one hand while her other beat his chest. "Why did you have to embarrass me like that?"

Natsu smiled and caught her wrist as she tried to hit him again. "Oh, so now I embarrass you do I?" He leaned down against her shoulder and smiled as his lips ran over the mark he had made. "Because I don't  
>remember being the one that couldn't keep quiet to the point that she could have gotten us caught."<p>

Mira shoved away from him, trying to glare at him despite the burning need she felt deep in her stomach. "Don't play dumb with me, you know what I mean." She said pouting slightly, her cheeks flushing.

Letting out a sigh, Natsu stepped towards her with her stepping away. "I've never been good with words, actions speak louder and faster." He continued to walk towards her, taking his steps one at a time to keep backing her up.

"Then you should have done it in a way that didn't scream 'Look at what Natsu and I were just doing'." She said as he back came to rest against a tree. She looked into his eyes and smiled again. "I can't deny it though... I'm glad you put us out there. I'm glad we won't have to hide ourselves anymore." Mira reached up and cupped his cheek before leaning in to capture his lips.

Natsu pulled away from her hand before their lips met, leaving Mira standing there confused. "Then let me make take it a step farther. Go on a mission with me. Just us... we can prove to everyone that we are more than we appear."

The take-over mage cocked her head to the side and frowned. "What are we then? Dating? Because I think everyone already sees that. What would you call us? If we are more than we seem that is."

The Dragon Slayer arched an eyebrow at her and smiled. "I can't tell you what to think about what you think we are. But, how do we seem like we are dating? Sure you are planning to stay at my place from time to time and we spend a good amount of time together... But I haven't taken you out anywhere or even asked you to date me. And besides, we snuck into one another's rooms."

Mira let her hand fall at his words, wondering exactly where he was leading her and if she would like the road ahead. "Lovers then?" She asked. "We are at least that... And couples do make love to one another, so why aren't we dating?"

Natsu shook his head. "Dating leads to marriage, are you telling me you want to marry me?" He asked bluntly.

Mira blushed brightly. "Was that supposed to be a proposal? Because if so, you have a long ways to go to be romantic." She teased. "But right now?" She asked seriously. "I don't know. I love you, more than anything I have ever tried to love... Maybe in the future when I am a little older." She admitted. "Do you want to marry me someday?"

Natsu folded his arms across his chest and shook his head again, "I can't say that I do. Marriage has never been a big thing to me." He could see the tears welling up in her eyes and grabbed her chin before she could look away from him, his face growing serious. "Because husbands and wives are just meaningless titles. A marriage has the chance to fail, to fall apart. I could go down and marry Lucy today and what would everyone say? That we had to be in love to get married? It can be based off a lie, or just not wanting to hurt someone's feelings by telling them no."

Mira pulled away from him and pushed him gently back, walking past him. It was as if her dreams had come true only for her to wake up again to see how untrue they had always been. She wanted him to follow her, to tell her it was going to be okay, yet at the same time she didn't know if she wanted him to tell her anymore just in case it was a lie to keep her from feeling pain.

"Because marriages can fail." He said to her back as she walked away, trying not to listen to him. "Because words and titles mean nothing if you change your mind one day. Tell me; if every man you met asked you to marry them, would it hold the same meaning to you as it would if just one person asked you?"  
>Mira stopped and shook her head before turning to him. "It doesn't matter to me the amount of people that ask to marry me. It only matters if the right person asks. And it isn't about the titles or the words said to the person you love. It is about committing yourself to another person for the rest of your life."<p>

Natsu closed the distance between the two of them. "Would you love said person less if they didn't wear the title of your husband? Would you hold any part of yourself back from him until he took on that title, or would you give him your love despite that title?" He asked, his voice gaining confidence with every word he spoke. "Or is their devotion to you as simple as a piece of paper and a title?"

Mira dropped her eyes to the ground, unable to meet his questioning gaze. "I have never thought about what it took to marry someone other than an undying love for them. Every girl grows up thinking she would get married to the man of her dreams. And here mine is, telling me he doesn't want me."

Natsu didn't reach out to her, didn't give her a chance to step away from him. Instead he grabbed her by her upper arms and picked her off the ground. She squirmed in his grasp trying to get away from him. "Let me go Natsu. Just... Just let me go..."

"Never." He whispered before he brought her to his chest. "But I won't marry you. Because I won't let there be a chance for us to fail. So long as you want me, I'll be here. Even when you don't want me, I will wait for you." Tears welled up in her eyes again as she wrapped her own arms around him. "Then why did you let me think otherwise?"

Natsu rubbed her back as he let her cry against him. "I won't lie to you about something as important as this; you have to know how little these titles mean to me… The only thing I need from you is your understanding and your honesty."

Mira dug her nails into his cloak and she shook her head at how simple he was trying to make everything. "If words and titles aren't worthwhile, then what actions do I need to take to show you what I am willing to give?"

"Like I said, I can't tell you what we are or what it will mean to you. I can only tell you what it means to me and what I am willing to do for you and what I am not willing to do."

Mira burrowed her head against Natsu's chest and closed her eyes to let his words run through her. "Let's head home; I don't want anyone to see me like this…" She said quietly, feeling Natsu nod against her.

xXxXxXxXxXx

Natsu rolled over onto his back when he came to terms with the fact that he wasn't going to be able to fall asleep. He stared at the ceiling for as long as he could manage, but he couldn't let himself simply sit there. He felt restless, he needed to move, and he needed to do something. As carefully as he could, so as to not wake the woman that was lying next to him; he moved from the covers and slipped off the edge of the bed. He closed his eyes and stretched his arms above his body before sagging into a hunch to make his way into the main room of the small house.

His eyes wandered over to the wall that depicted his searches for his adoptive father Igneel. He had no pictures of himself with the Dragon, but the image of the giant creature was seared into his mind. He traced one of the lines of thread that zigzagged between several of the newspaper clippings until it ended in a dead end. He had been searching for his father for eight years. 'Eight years tomorrow.' He thought to himself, regret filling his heart once again.

He knew he had no right to feel sorry for himself; he had far more than a lot of people could ask for. He had friends so close they could be considered family, and he had a woman in his life the he could be honest with and that would accept him for who he was, not for the strength he held. He couldn't shake the feeling that something was missing, but he already knew what it was, his father. No amount of strength or friends or love could compare to the crushing feeling he had felt when Igneel disappeared. He thought about Mira and how her parents had died when she was younger.

Natsu smiled at the fact that they had more in common than it seemed, but immediately felt guilty at being happy for both of their losses. Touching the most recent dead end, Natsu heard the soft steps of his house mate as she walked over to him, staying silent long enough to take his hand away from the article. "One day you will find him. One day he will come back, and when he does I'm sure you will be there waiting for him to explain why he had been gone for so long. Until then, I'll help you look…" She offered looking over at him briefly.

"Even if it takes another twenty years to find him, I'll always be waiting." Natsu whispered before shaking himself mentally. "Besides, what are you doing up?" He asked changing the subject.

"I missed my heater." She said simply, leaning against his side. "So I thought I would come find him to see if I couldn't convince him to come back with me." She could sense that he was still distracted with the thoughts of his father and reached up to his cheek, rubbing her thumb in circles over the soft skin.

Natsu closed his eyes and let out a long breath before pulling Mira back into the bedroom with him. He waited until she was under the covers before lying down behind her, pulling her against his chest and wrapping an arm around her waist, leaving his hand on her stomach.

xXxXxXxXxXx

Natsu forced a smile onto his face so as to not show how much pain he was in. He stood in front of the guild's mission board, Mira standing at his side. Nothing seemed to catch his eye, everything merely a simple job; take this item here, escort that person there, or to find a missing artifact that meant everything to a particular family for one reason or another. He had seen it all a thousand times, and had done them all in the name of distracting himself or getting money for his teammates when they were low. Despite needing to distract himself from the loss of his father, he needed a job worthy of the woman standing at his side, a job that would show the others that they weren't just in this for the fun of it.

They had both needed someone in the past, finding solace in one another from time to time, and with Mira's bold actions they had crossed the line that friends weren't meant to cross. The only thing he regretted from the situation is that it had taken him so long to see what was standing right in front of him. "Why don't we take one of the S-class jobs?" Mira asked pulling him from his thoughts.

A genuine smile crossed his lips and he nudged the woman. "Are you sure you can trust me with something that important?"

"If you were going alone? No, to be perfectly honest." She said with a wave of her hand, grinning at the look of defeat on the Dragon Slayer's face. "But with me it should be okay. I'm sure I can handle your destructive tendencies." He pushed her gently, a smile coming back across his lips. "Just find one that pays well, I'm running a bit low this month."

Mira nodded and made her way to the second level of the guild to check out the S-class mission board while Natsu took a seat at the bar next to Cana. The drunken woman slammed her empty mug on the counter. "Lisanna! Refill!" She called out before turning to the Dragon Slayer. "Tell me Natshu…" She said, her voice slurring slightly. "How far have you gone with the Demon?"

Natsu leaned forward on his elbows, resting his chin in his hands while he peaked at her out of the corner of his eye. "You're drunk Cana."

The woman laughed and tipped her mug back, finding that it was still empty. "I'm not _that_ drunk. And you still haven't answered my question." Leaning closer to him, she pressed her breasts against his arm, her lips almost touching his ear. "You can tell me, I won't tell your secret. Have you gotten her naked yet?"

Natsu laughed and looked over at the drunken mage hanging off his arm, pulling his arm from her chest. "You are almost as big a gossip as Mira is, Cana. And believe me, if something happened you would probably already know about it."

Cana ran a hand through her hair as she stuck out her lower lip. "But I heard you two have been staying together for the past few days. Do you really just sleep?" She asked bluntly.

Natsu opened his mouth to answer her question, but Mira beat him to the punch when she dropped down into his lap, draping an arm around his neck. "If only he would let me get some sleep every once in a while." She giggled, nuzzling into Natsu's neck.

Cana gaped at the two before laughing while Natsu sputtered, trying to find words. "Mira! What the hell!" He cried out. "Any louder and Elfman would have heard!"

Mira tilted his head back and kissed his lips gently before slipping off his lap. "No matter." She said dismissing the conversation, noticing Cana was still laughing. "I found us a job. One I think you might like." She added handing him the flier.

The Dragon Slayer grumbled under his breath about demons and their lack of privacy. His mouth dropped open when he read the job description. _Looking for a mage that can subdue a fire breathing beast_. His eyes darted across the paper a couple of times before looking up at Mira again. "Either it's another clue, or you can take out your aggression on a rampaging beast. Either way it is a win-win situation." She gave him a wink and took the flier back from him, calling Lisanna back over to them.

The forgotten Cana leaned over to Natsu again and tugged on his scarf to get his attention. "If she ever turns out to not be enough for you, I'd be happy to join." She gave Mira a small wink before dropping off the stool and walking away, swaying her hips as she went.

Mira grabbed Natsu's ear and pulled his gaze away from the woman that was currently walking away from them. "Eyes over here, Natsu." She said coolly. "Let's be on our way, we need to pack."

xXxXxXxXxXx

Standing in front of the train station, Natsu leaned his head against the wall and groaned. "Stop acting like a child, it's only a few hours away." She teased, poking him in the ribs.

"I would rather walk." He mumbled casting a glare as the train came to a stop in front of the station. "Let's get this over with." He said quickly before walking onto the train and tossing his bag into the booth across from where he sat. Mira followed and took the seat closest to the window

The second the train lurched into movement, Natsu turned green and collapsed against Mira's side, groaning as he tried to prevent himself from getting sick. Mira guided his head down to her lap and let her fingers run through his hair, drawing sounds from the Dragon Slayer quite different than those he was losing from his motion sickness. She decided to keep it up, enjoying the effect she had on him, feeling surprised regardless of how often she caught him staring at her.

Mira sucked in a sharp breath as she felt a breath of hot air release along the inside of her legs, noticing absently that he had rolled over to face her. "You smell good…" He said drawing in a deep breath, distracting himself the best he could. Mira flicked his forehead in warning. "If you throw up on me, you won't have to worry about your motion sickness any longer." She barely held in her moan as his breath blew over her thigh and over her panties.

"N…Natsu…" She whispered heatedly. "Stop… This isn't…" She stopped when she saw the Dragon Slayer had fallen asleep and contented herself with staring out the window as his breath continued to lick at her legs. It was going to be a long trip, for her at least.

xXxXxXxXxXx

The Dragon Slayer fell to the ground just outside the train, kissing the ground repeatedly. Mira shook slightly and dropped his bag next to his head. "Come on, let's go drop our bags off at the inn, I got us a reservation before we left town." Natsu raised his head up at her and found he was staring at her panties, noticing a dark spot on them. His eyes found hers and he had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from growling, but couldn't stop the sly smile from dancing across his lips.

"Maybe we should look around town first?" He suggested, getting a glare from the woman. Mira dropped her bag next to his and squatted down in front of him, taking his face in her hands. "If you make me wait any longer…" She said, biting her lower lip. "I may have to find someone who will take care of my needs." His eyes narrowed slightly at her words and pushed himself to his feet, drawing her up with him. She pulled him down closer to her before continuing where she left off. "But I would much rather it be you."

Natsu grabbed her around the waist and pulled her against him in a brief kiss. "I guess I shouldn't keep you waiting then, now should I?" He said once they had separated. Mira blushed but nodded as they both grabbed their bags and she took his free hand with her own to pull him with her towards the inn.

Mira did all the talking at the counter while Natsu took her bag from her and tossing the strap over his shoulder. She jumped when he pinched her butt, slapping his hand away.

The old woman working the counter gave the two a knowing smile and slid the key across the counter. "All our rooms are warded to keep sounds both in and out… Enjoy your stay." Mira blushed and stammered her thanks, but Natsu wasn't willing to wait since he knew the woman had a good idea of what was going on with the two of them. He bent over and wrapped his free arm around her legs to toss her over his shoulder, asking the woman which way. He gave her a toothy grin and a wink before heading down the hall she had indicated.

Mira stifled a giggle as Natsu fumbled with the door before finally getting it open and kicking it shut. He dropped their bags next to the door and slid her down to the ground in front of him. She didn't wait for her feet to touch the ground before her lips claimed his, letting her frustrations leak out of her as his lips melted her thoughts.

She let him back her up until they her legs hit the edge of the bed, causing her to fall backwards and pulling him with her. She flipped them over in their descent so he landed on his back with her on top of him for once. Their lips parted only long enough for her to pull his shirt from his body, then she was on him again, their tongues running over each other's. she moaned against his lips at the feeling of his warm hands running up her sides.

Steeling herself, she grabbed his wrists and pushed them above his head. "We do this my way this time." She whispered seductively against his lips. She waited until he nodded before letting his wrists go and working her way down his neck with her lips to his chest. She listened to his breathing to tell her how much more he could take as she traced his muscles with her lips. She wanted him to feel as helpless as he made her feel, wanted him to need her touch. He groaned loudly when her tongue dipped into the recess of his scar, dragging her teeth against the rough skin. His eyes watched every move she made, but stayed where he was to let her do as she pleased with him.

Her teeth found the leather belt at his hips while her hands ran over the growing bulge in his pants, barely touching him. She smiled at the pained expression on his face and used her teeth to remove his belt and unzip his pants before dragging the cloth from his body, taking his boxers with it. She pulled her own dress off and dropped it from the side of the bed, using one hand to cover her naked chest from his eyes teasingly. Bending over, she slid her panties down her long legs, making sure to give him a bit of a show. "Sit up against the headboard." She told him and was slightly surprised at how easily he accepted her being in charge.

Mira bit her lower lip as she crawled up the bed towards him. She stopped her ascent up his body long enough to kiss his enlarged member. She claimed his lips once more, pressing her chest against his, moaning gently at the feeling of his rough skin against her delicate nipples. She took ahold of him without breaking the kiss and positioned herself over him, teasing him with the entrance of her core, covering the tip of him in her juices.

Natsu had to grip the sheets under his hands to prevent himself from moving. Some part of him snapped when she lowered herself onto him, her whimper breaking the last parts of his barrier. His hands roamed up her body, feeling every piece of flesh she offered him before his hands enveloped her breasts. He squeezed the soft skin, feeling it mold to the contours of his fingers only to go back when he let up. Their hips started a slow rhythm. She broke the kiss to lean her head back with a moan. The Dragon Slayer's lips locked over Mira's collar, nipping gently at the delicate skin before moving down to capture her breast with his mouth. She moaned again, placing her forearms on his shoulders to give herself a little more leverage to lift herself off him, sliding back down his length as his hand guided her on her hip.

Mira increased the pace on her own, feeling her release growing closer, the knot in her stomach tightening every time she impaled herself on him. A cry left her lips as she felt his sharp teeth pierce the skin near her areola.

Placing her hands on his arms, she increased her pace, feeling herself tip over that invisible mountain as her walls squeezed his member, but she didn't stop moving. Her breath caught in her throat when he wrapped an arm around her waist and pushed her onto her back, still keeping them connected. Their lips met as he brought one of her legs up between them to hook her knee with his elbow. She gasped into the kiss feeling him enter her deeper.

His tongue forced it's way into her mouth, running over her own seductively. She let herself succumb to his advances, meeting his every thrust with her hips while her tongue fought his, delving into his mouth to taste that smoky flavor she craved. The take-over mage dug her nails into his shoulders as she felt another climax claim her, breaking away from his lips with a scream. "Natsu!" It was as if her cries fueled his efforts enough to cause him to move faster, their hips meeting with a slap that she knew she would have bruises soon enough.

He drew out her climax by biting onto her neck, sucking gently so as not to leave much of a mark again. "I don't think I can hold out much longer, Mira…" He groaned out hoarsely. Taking his head in her hands, she made him look at her but didn't stop him from his constant thrusts. "Don't hold back, I want you to make me yours. Make me addicted to you. I want you to fill me completely." She said, trying to whisper but hearing it come out in a moan.

Natsu didn't need to be told twice, renewing his efforts, causing the headboard to slam into the wall with each thrust. Her moans soon turned into screams as her body recoiled with every movement he made until she shook with pleasure.

"Mira! I'm cumming!"

"Natsu!"

The two cried out again, Mira's walls tightening once again, milking everything from the Dragon Slayer as she felt his seed fill her. He finally pulled out after a few moments, collapsing on the bed next to her. He watched as she slid a hand between her legs to feel that he had indeed overfilled her, coating her fingers in what hadn't been able to remain within her before bringing them to her lips to savor his flavor. She moaned at the taste, knowing she could get used to the taste of him if he was willing to grant her another chance.

**As always, R & R please!**

**If you have any criticism or problems with my story, let me know! I can't get better, or fix my issues if you don't tell me about them! Much love to all of my regular readers!**


	3. Painful Confessions

**I do not own Fairy Tail, Hiro Mashima does.**

**First of all I want to thank everyone who reads this and that goes double for those of you that review! **

Mira rolled onto her side, propping herself up on her elbow looking down at the Dragon Slayer. She smiled down at him as his onyx eyes sucked her in. She forgot about where they were and why they had even left Magnolia in the first place, knowing that whether he returned her feelings or not, she would follow him. Wherever he was, she wanted to be. Just seeing that grin he gave her was enough to warm her, giving her a different perspective of what everyone else saw from him. He was always a passionate person, jumping headfirst into any situation to protect any of his friends. But no one saw this side of him, the fierce yet gentle way he touched her and the simple look of need that filled his eyes.

She followed his hand with her eyes as he slowly crossed the distance between them to brush a thin strand of hair that stuck to her face. Her cheek pushed against the palm of his hand, savoring the warmth he gave off from his very being, closing her eyes to savor the feeling. She groaned in disappointment when he pulled back from her and felt the bed move as he got off of it.

Raising her eyes to watch him, she couldn't help but let her gaze wander over him. He practically glistened in the bright light that was coming in from the window to reflect off his sweat. Mira pushed herself into a sitting position, memorizing the image in front of her. She wanted to remember the way his muscles moved as he bent to retrieve his fallen clothes, the rise of his chest with each breath. She gasped slightly when he turned his back to her to pull his shirt over his head. She reached out tentatively, stopping his shirt from covering the marks on his back so she could see the dark red scratches down his back, blood dripping down from where his skin had been cut.

He sucked in a sharp breath and looked over his shoulder to her, but his smile never faltered. "Do they hurt?" She asked worried. Natsu shrugged his shoulders and turned to her, taking her hand in his. "Not as much as you would expect. Besides… I kind of enjoy it." Mira laughed and slapped his shoulder, realizing she was still kneeling naked on the bed in front of him. She would have to keep that in mind for something to try out later, test how much pain he enjoyed.

She was brought out of her fantasy when Natsu threw her bag onto the bed next to her. "Hurry up, we need to get to the mayor's office, we are already late." Mira looked over at the wall clock to see that he was right, her eyes widening at the time. They were supposed to be at the office by two and it was nearing four. The take-over mage unzipped her bag and quickly pulled on black short shorts with leggings that went nearly up to the bottom of her shorts. She also dawned on a dark red tank top that barely contained her bountiful chest.

A pair of boots finished her outfit before she ran a brush through her hair to ensure there wouldn't be any tangles in it. Despite the fact that Natsu liked the way she looked when her hair was disheveled, he knew that they needed to keep the image of Fairy Tail high. He couldn't help but think that she was starting to revert to how she had been when they were kids, before Lisanna had 'died'. She was more adventurous than in the previous years and it made him smile to think that she was letting herself feel happy once again.

Grabbing her hand, he pulled her from the room, barely stopping long enough to grab the key to the room. He could feel the eyes of strangers on them as he practically pulled her through the town.

Mira followed without a word as Natsu pulled her along, trying to ignore the haunting looks they were getting from strangers around them. She could hear whispers ripple around them as they parted for the two and she stepped up her speed to match that of the Dragon Slayer's. She tried to ignore those around them until she realized they were at the mayor's office, Natsu walking right in without a knock. She pulled her hand from his and put a hand on his chest, giving him a 'let me do the talking' look as someone stood up from a desk just inside the room.

"Can I help you two?" The woman behind the desk asked sweetly. Mira caught the look the woman gave them, a quick glance to ascertain what the two were to one another before she eyed Natsu as if she were picking a piece of fruit from a stall and had just found the perfect prize.

"We are from Fairy Tail, we got the notice that your town has been in some trouble with a beast." Mira said, her voice dripping with her usual sweet venom. Anyone that knew the mage would know that she had something evil on her mind, but from the outside it looked like she was genuinely sweet. "We were told to stop by when we got into town, that someone would have more information for us about your problems."

The woman's smile never faltered as she transferred her gaze to the take-over mage. "I thought you two were supposed to be here around two… Well never mind that." The woman said with a wave of her hand. "Come with me, the mayor is waiting for you."

The two were lead down a long hall to a large set of double doors that opened to a rather plump man sitting behind a desk with a few mountains of papers piled around them that he was focused on. "Sir, these are the mages that we heard from before, from Fairy Tail."

The mention of their guild brought the man's head up to take the two in before a large grin split the man's face from ear to ear and he stood, gesturing to the chairs in front of his desk, in which the two took seats. "Please, if I can be of any help to you two just let me know."

Mira folded her arms below her chest and smiled. "Well, we were hoping you could give us a description of the beast, or at least where we could find him."

The man took his seat again and leaned his elbows on the desk to contemplate how to form his words. "It is a large winged beast that breaths fire." He started. "I can't say that I know much more about the appearance of the beast, or even what it is to be exact. It moves too fast that we can never get a good look at it. About an hour north it is said that the beast holed up on the side of the canyon so as to not be disturbed. But, after it's most recent attack on a nearby farm we couldn't sit back and hope it wouldn't attack again."

Natsu fidgeted in his seat, itching to ask questions, but Mira quickly glared in his direction, causing him to snap his mouth shut. No matter how close he got to her, he could tell that this was one of those moments that he shouldn't fight her, reminding him why she was called 'The Demon' around the guild.

"Anything else you can think of? When did he start attacking? When did he first appear? Do you know what he wants?" Mira asked, pulling any piece of information she could out of the plump man.

The mayor raised an eyebrow at her. "Why do you keep calling it a he? We don't know what it is, but it started coming around about two months ago and we saw it when a few animals started going missing, leaving blackened scorch marks on the ground wherever it touched. And it's just a beast; it doesn't need a reason to terrorize my people. Now I would greatly appreciate it if you get on with your job, and get rid of this thing for us. I hear your guild is very well known, I expect it shouldn't be too hard for you if you live up to your rumors."

Mira nodded and stood up, motioning for Natsu to lead the way out. "Don't worry, we will take care of it, sir. We are staying at the Red Grove Inn if you can think of anything else. Leave a message with them and we will make sure we get it as soon as we can." A single nod from the mayor was all she needed before leaving the office, watching closely as the assistant looked Natsu over again, but thankfully the woman kept her mouth shut and just looked. She was okay with that, but Mira wouldn't have minded putting the lady in her place if she decided to act on those looks she was giving the Dragon Slayer. She couldn't help but notice how ignorant her lover was of the looks and smiled, intertwining her fingers with his just outside the door.

**xXxXxXxXxXx**

As soon as the two had reached the edge of town Natsu had let go of Mira's hand and had started running off in the direction of the canyon the mayor had told them about. She followed close behind him, sensing his excitement at the possibility of seeing his father again. Natsu practically vibrated with anticipation, fire coursing through his veins at the thought of finding the Dragon. He felt as if he waited any longer the Dragon would leave again before they could find him and he would be without clues once again. He heard the woman behind him call his name just as the forest floor ended, the canyon appearing just in front of them.

Digging his feet into the ground, the Dragon Slayer slid several feet before coming to a stop at the edge of the cliff. Another couple of feet and he would have fallen. Tentatively looking over the side, he searched for where the beast could be hiding, at any sign of a cave or perch that could be used for cover. Mira spotted it before him and backed up a few steps before running to the edge of the cliff, launching her across the gap, her long white hair streaming behind her. He watched her trajectory, gauging where she would land before jumping down the side of the cliff, sliding his way down the opposite cliff towards the opening. Just before he fell past the opening, he grabbed a rock that was jutting out from the wall and used it to propel himself into the dark cave to land next to Mira.

Without a word, Natsu brought flames around his right hand and held it out to light their way so they could descend into the darkness. The two walked for what felt like an hour, getting deeper and deeper into the hole until they could no longer see the light from the edge of the cave that they had entered from. A low rumbling from deeper into the cave brought both of their attentions around, moving more quietly as they descended. It wasn't long before they could tell that the sound was in face coming from a large creature, but it was from snores rather than an actual threat.

Natsu motioned for the woman to get behind him, glaring at her when she moved to get in front of him and he let the fire disappear from his hand, bathing them in darkness once again. It only took the Dragon Slayer a moment to adjust and feel a hand grab the back of his vest. "I can't see, why did you do that?" Mira whispered harshly at him.

"Quiet!" He growled at her in a heated whisper. "I can see just fine, just hang on to me until I can get a look at what we are dealing with." She conceded with a sigh, digging her nails into his clothing so as to not lose him when he pulled her down further.

Natsu stopped suddenly, causing her to bump into his back while he looked at the beast a short distance from them. "It's not him…" He whispered to her before taking her hand away from him and jumping a few feet from her, fire erupting over his body to flood the cave in light. The creature pulled back from the light and hissed. Mira got her first look at what had been terrorizing the town, a large snake with arms and wings. The more she looked at it did she think it looked like a man from the waist up and a snake from the waist down. The only problem with that was the snake head and the wings, and the fact that it was well over a hundred feet long.

The two threw themselves in opposite directions as the beast struck at them, launching forward with it's fangs bared. That first attack was all it took for the two mages to jump into action. Natsu ran straight at the beast, flames glowing brighter. "**Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!**" The Dragon Slayer cried out, bringing his fist around to attack the beast's thick scales, but only watched as the fire licked over the scales harmlessly.

Mira threw herself at the beast from the opposite side. "**Take Over: Satan Soul.**" She said calmly, transforming seconds before her fist connected with the snake's soft underbelly. It cried out, lashing out with it's tail sending the woman flying into the side of the cave while it rounded on the Dragon Slayer. Rearing back, the snake spat flames at the Dragon Slayer harmlessly. It recoiled in surprise to find the man unhurt but regained it's senses in the blink of an eye.

Natsu dodged under the snake's bite, flipping backwards to kick it in the jaw with a resounding crunch. His eyes looked behind the snake at the movement behind it and flinched, taking an attack from it's tail into his stomach. He felt himself hit something other than the wall and opened his eyes to see Mira over him, having stopped him from hitting the stone walls that surrounded them.

"**Demon…**"

"Mira! No!" Natsu cried out, trying to stop the woman from finishing the attack.

"**…Blast!**" Mira finished, casting her hands out towards the charging beast.

Natsu felt his body move before his mind could tell him to, grabbing her wrists and pushing them up, aiming the attack over the snake's head by mere inches. "Natsu?" She asked, bewildered.

Grabbing her by her upper arm he pulled her back, throwing them away from the creature. "It's not attacking us Mira, it's protecting something!" He explained.

The two of them pushed off one another, propelling the other out of the way of another attack. "**Fire Dragon's Roar!**" Natsu cried, launching a large streak of fire down the cavern behind the large snake. A second, much smaller, snake creature had curled around something at the end of the cave. Fire licked around it, but did nothing more than light the area around it.

The two mages jumped further away before coming together when the large snake moved between them and the smaller snake and whatever it was protecting. "It's an egg…" Mira said with realization. The two stood there, fire still licking around the walls between the two groups. "It isn't attacking the town, it is protecting it's mate and child." She growled, her eyes growing cold.

Natsu nodded and started to back up from the snakes, knowing full well that they were monsters that could cause a lot of havoc if they ever decided to actually attack. When the snakes didn't follow, Natsu and Mira turned and ran up the cave. "I'd like a few answers about where exactly they attacked." He finally said, breaking the silence that had previously only been filled with their labored breath and sounds of their feet hitting the stone floor. They crossed the distance in mere minutes, Mira grabbing Natsu's collar before launching the two of them into the air, her wings carrying them to the canyon's opening. She let her transformation fall the second they hit the ground, breathing heavily.

**xXxXxXxXxXx**

Natsu had forced himself to calm down before they got the office, knowing full well what people would do when they were afraid. Or at least he hoped they were just afraid of the beast rather than wanting to hurt the creatures. Opening the door, he was greeted with the same smile from the assistant. "Wow! That was fast; we didn't expect you back until tomorrow!" The woman said standing up quickly and rushing ahead of them when they tried to walk past her towards the mayor's office.

The mayor wasn't surprised to see them, merely looking up when they walked in. "Is it dead?" He asked bluntly.

"No, we need more information. You said the beast attacked farms, where exactly did it attack?" Natsu asked his voice deadly calm.

The mayor frowned at the two before him, ignoring their question. "What do you mean no? Your job was to kill the beast."

"It wasn't attacking anyone." Mira said speaking up. "We found it protecting it's mate and it's young."

The mayor stood up and slammed his fists on the desk. "You are telling me there are more than one and you didn't kill them!"

Natsu growled at the man's response. "It shouldn't attack as long as you leave it alone. If you haven't had any trouble from it up to this point, someone must have gone into it's territory. Now, what farms were attacked?"

"Some farms up north between the canyon and town, like I said earlier. Livestock has gone missing when the farmers try to get them to other pastures." The mayor said, flopping down into the seat irritated.

"Then tell them to take their livestock somewhere else, or at least wait a few months for the young to be born. If they haven't attacked until now, then leave them be. They will leave when they can." He said before turning his back on the man.

"If I had known Fairy Tail left their jobs unfinished, I wouldn't have sent you a job flier." The mayor said, causing Natsu to turn around, fire erupting around him. Mira beat him to it, grabbing the man by his front shirt, roughly lifting him up.

"You hired us to kill something that doesn't need to be killed. Next time, watch what you say or my friend here may not have me to stop him. He doesn't take things lightly, especially when you insult his decisions or his friends." Mira dropped the man and spun, shoving Natsu from the room. The assistant stopped them before they left the building.

"You said the beast had young? How long do the farmers need to wait before they can move their livestock?" Natsu sighed, trying to calm his mind from what the mayor had tried to say. "A few months, don't worry. They should move on when it's born. Call us back if something happens. And take down those offers; innocent beasts don't need to die just because someone fears them." He growled before pulling Mira from the office.

"Let's get something to eat." She commented once outside.

"I'm starving." He agreed, cheering at the idea.

**xXxXxXxXxXx**

Mira sat across the table from the fire mage while she looked over the menu. She looked up when the waiter came over to take their orders. "I'll have…" She said looking over the items again. "Ummmm… How about the grilled chicken with corn, and a lemonade, please." She asked handing over the menu.

Natsu handed the menu over as well. "Four steaks and one of the roasted chickens." The waiter froze before writing the order, surprised at how much the mage had ordered.

"Anything to drink for you?" The waiter asked.

"Bring me whatever she's having." Natsu answered, dropping his head to the table. He listened to the waiter walk away before raising his head to lace his fingers under his chin. "I hope they will be okay…"

Mira laughed and shook her head. "They should be fine, just think what you would do to protect your child."

Natsu flinched and sat up, furrowing his brows at her. "If I was in that snake's place, we wouldn't have left there alive."

"Exactly… Now why don't we-..." She was cut off when the waiter came back.

"A lemonade for you, sir." He said putting the drink in front of Natsu. "And one for your beautiful friend." He gave Mira a wink before turning away from the two and heading back.

Natsu growled at the back of the man's head, but didn't do anything else. Mira giggled at her… She cocked her head to the side, unable to finish the thought. She couldn't think of what she was to him, they had never finished that discussion. He had told her that he didn't consider them dating, saying that marriage wasn't what he was looking for. Okay that wasn't exactly right; he had said he didn't like putting titles to people. She knew he liked her, cared for her, and even wanted to be around her.

A small sigh left her lips when the waiter returned with their food, struggling to keep Natsu's large order on the tray. He placed the food one at a time in front of them. "Anything else I can get for you or your boyfriend?" He asked Mira.

"He isn't my boyfriend." She said bluntly, a little hurt that she didn't know how to categorize Natsu.

The waiter quickly smiled and nodded. "My apologies ma'am... I only assumed because of how close you look. Is he your brother?" He asked, ignoring Natsu pointedly.

Mira opened her mouth with a laugh, shaking her head. "He's just an idiot… Just a friend of mine." She finished, the last barely more than a whisper.

Natsu frowned and opened his mouth to speak but couldn't find words, instead shoveled food into his mouth as if it was what he had planned all along. "How long are you staying in town? If you are free, I wouldn't mind…"

His voice was cut off when a menacing growl left Natsu's throat, his fist bending the fork in his hand. "I'm sorry, did I say something wrong?" The waiter asked, looking between the two hesitantly.

"She's **mine**." Natsu said roughly, causing Mira to blush, stabbing her chicken with her fork. The waiter looked confused, but backed away before quickly walking away. It wasn't that Mira had exactly wanted the guy to ask her out, but it was good to see Natsu so flustered and possessive over her.

The rest of their meal went uninterrupted, the waiter clearly not wanting to come over to get between the two until Mira asked for their bill. Natsu snatched it from the man's hand and shoved some money into the guy's hand before grabbing Mira and pulling her against him and making their way back to the inn.

Once in their room, Natsu slammed the door shut and wrapped his arms roughly around Mira, holding her to his chest tightly, not speaking. She didn't know how long she stood there, letting him hold her, but she didn't stop him when he pulled her over to a love seat, setting her on his lap with her legs going over one of the arms so she sat sideways on his lap.. "Why did you react like that?" She asked finally. "You know I wouldn't have done anything, I've told you that all I want is you."

"Because I told you, I can't lose you. And it isn't you I'm worried about, it's _them_…" He said, spitting out the last word. "And I never know when you will decide you're done with me… Especially when I had told you that I wouldn't marry you…" He hadn't wanted to bring it up, but it ate him inside that he hadn't told her exactly what he wanted from her yet other than the fact that he just wanted her around him.

"Speaking of that… If you won't marry me, what will you do in the future? What's to stop someone from bringing it up when I can't tell them what we are." She asked, pushing back from him slightly.

Natsu frowned. "I told him exactly what you are."

"Which was what? That I'm yours? Like some kind of possession?" She asked.

"Not like that." He said narrowing his eyes to her. "I don't own you, but… You are still mine." He said, not finding a better way to explain it.

She leaned down and pressed her head to his shoulder. "For now…. For now that's enough." Grabbing a fistful of his hair, she forced him to look down at her. "But I expect you to find a better way to say it in the future." She pulled him down into a small kiss, barely pressing her lips to his.

She grinned when his hand slid into her hair and tried to pull her lips tighter against his, but she clenched her fist in his hair and pulled him away forcibly. "Nuh-uh. I don't think so." Mira pushed her head into the crook of his neck, settling herself against him as he groaned in disappointment, only adding to her personal pleasure.

"But Mira!" He complained, running his hand up her spine, letting his fingers trace between the bumps of her vertebrae, causing her to shiver slightly at his touch. "You know you don't want to say no." His said in a quiet husky voice that sent chills through her.

"Maybe not, but until you can decide what you need me to be for you, then you are going to have to wait for me to initiate it. I'm still not happy with you right now. Despite my love for you, I will wait until you decide what you want me to be. But until then…" She said giggling, kissing his neck gently, hoping to spark something within him about his feelings for her.

Natsu sighed and wrapped his arms around her small frame, grumbling in response of having to wait.

**xXxXxXxXxXx**

Natsu had woken up first, finding Mira had moved away from him sometime in the night, instead standing next to the window, looking out over the dark town. He silently made his way over to her and wrapped his arms around her, feeling her freezing frame shudder at his touch. "At least let me keep you warm…" He said with a small smile. She let him hold her until the sun came up before kissing him gently, apologizing for what she had said. "I don't want to force you to make a decision… I just don't know what to expect right now." Natsu nodded silently and pulled away to get their bags together.

**xXxXxXxXxXx**

Mira sighed as she stood at the bar, absently running a hand over the scaled scarf she had wrapped around her waist. After the two had gotten back to his place, he had showered and changed before leaving her there, saying he would see her at her place later. He hadn't seemed like himself, barely meeting her gaze. On top of that he had forgotten his scarf, something that he had never done before. Well, except the day he had jumped out of her window thinking he had done something wrong. She was worried that he had freaked out over her request for an answer from him, that she was going to push him away. That had been over eight hours ago and he hadn't come back to the guild since then.

'Maybe I should go look for him.' She thought absently before pushing her way around the bar. "Mind watching the bar for a little while Cana?" She asked the near drunken mage. "I'll make sure to treat you to a few beers when I get back." She added to sweeten the deal. Cana merely waved her off, telling her to be on her way.

Mira had just started to push the door open when she saw him leaning against a tree and a smile spread across her face, his simple presence relieving the stress she felt. She pushed the door fully open to reveal someone standing close to him, talking quietly with him. She watched as his face light up, still not noticing Mira at the door. "Thank Mavis Lisanna!" He said wrapping his arms around her small frame. 'Lisanna?' Mira wondered, still frozen in place.

"I can't tell you how happy I am!" He said kissing her forehead. "Thank you Lisanna. I love you, you know that right?"

Everything stopped for Mira, her heart stopped and her mind stumbled, trying to piece together what she was seeing.

"I know you do Natsu, and I love you too. But…" Lisanna pushed away from the male, pointing a finger up at him sternly. "You better tell her before she finds out from someone else."

The last thing Mira remembered before she blacked out was that she was screaming, ripping the door off its hinges.

**xXxXxXxXxXx**

Mira awoke with a scream, shoving the covers off of her, drenched in sweat. She looked around the dark room and realized she wasn't in her room or even at Natsu's. Why was she there? Where was Natsu? Why did her hand hurt? Then it dawned on her, the whole thing that she had seen with Natsu and Lisanna and she curled into a ball, crying silently. She had been right; she had pushed him away with her ultimatum. She would regret it, but could she get over it? Natsu had meant everything to her. No that wasn't right; even with him going to her sister, he still meant everything to her.

A banging on the door caused her to flinch. "Look miss, if you want to stay any longer, you need to pay for another night." The voice was harsh, but she couldn't be angry at him. He had a point, she had paid for her time and it was up.

Wiping her tears away, she walked to the door and opened it, pulling out her purse. "How long have I been here?" She asked handing over the nights rent.

The man looked down at her confused, "Miss, you have been here for a week… Are you okay?" He asked, worried slightly at the state she was in.

Mira nodded and shut the door silently, leaning against it for a moment before locking it and going back to the bed. She curled up and closed her eyes, trying to will herself to sleep to get away from the pain of her heart.

**xXxXxXxXxXx**

Natsu groaned and rolled his shoulder, wincing in pain. He hadn't let Wendy put his shoulder back the way it should be since Mira had ran out after throwing the guild's heavy wooden door at him. It had dislocated his shoulder, but he had managed to push Lisanna out of the way in time. Until he found her, he wouldn't let anyone help him. It was his fault she had done it in the first place, his fault she had ran off.

He hadn't slept for the entire week, searching everywhere he could think of to look for her. She hadn't gone to his place, not that he blamed her for that, nor had she gone home. To make matters worse, everyone in the guild had seen what had happened and Lisanna had blamed herself for her sister's reaction. Elfman had tried to strangle the Dragon Slayer until Lisanna had explained her own side of the story. Even then he had cracked the Dragon Slayer over the head with a barstool.

Natsu was currently making his way around town for the tenth time that day, asking everyone he saw if they had seen her, or even heard where she might have gone. People were starting to get angry at him, threatening to call Erza if he so much as showed his face around there again. He called them on their bluff every couple of hours, questioning them again and again. He felt like he should give up, but the simple fact that she was alone broke that thought and spurred him onward.

"Don't you think if she wanted to see you, you would have found her by now?" The innkeeper said glaring at the man that had just walked in.

"So you haven't seen Mira?" Natsu asked quietly. "Any chance at all? She can change her appearance at will, but…" He didn't know what he was saying, he knew she could use her magic to make herself look like anyone she knew, but still she was herself. No matter who she turned into, he was sure people should know it was her.

"I told you, Mirajane is not here. What did you do to the poor girl anyways that it makes you act like this?" The innkeeper asked, starting to get angry, knowing full well Mira was down the hall from where they were standing.

"She…" Natsu tried to say, but found tears rolling down his cheeks once again. "Just tell her if you see her to come find me, that I can explain everything…"

"Whatever you say, I'll let her know if I see her." Natsu nodded at the comment and pushed his way out the door, his hand quickly going to his shoulder again.

The innkeeper watched the distraught young man walk out. He usually didn't pry into people's lives, but he couldn't help it after this. Obviously something terrible had happened, but if there was a way to make things better, he should at least try. He waited a few minutes to be sure the boy was gone and then made his way back down the hall, knocking gently. "Miss?"

Mira looked up at the door and shuffled over to it, cracking it partially. "Did I not give you enough?" She asked, not remembering how much money she had even given the older gentleman.

The older gentleman shook his head. "That isn't it, everything is fine. But… A young man has been coming here for the past week looking for you. I still haven't told him you are here, but if he keeps coming by, I won't be able to hold back. I know he hurt you, but…. You should see the way he looks when he comes in."

Mira shook her head and moved to shut the door, but he stopped her. "He left me for my sister…" She whispered. "He doesn't want anything to do with me except to make his guilt go away."

The older gentleman shook his head in disbelief. "Did you hear him say those words exactly?" She only responded with a shake of her head. "I'm sorry he hurt you, but the way things are going, you are doing just as much pain to him." He let her shut the door with that and sighed before going to back to the counter. He stood there thinking for a few minutes before heading out of the shop.

**xXxXxXxXxXx**

Lisanna ran from the guild, all but knocking the innkeeper out of her way as she raced towards town. Everything about her screamed to find Natsu and just tell him where her sister was, but she felt she needed to explain things herself. It was the least she could do for the Dragon Slayer for all he had done for her.

Standing in front of the door, she knocked gently and heard a shuffling on the other side of the door. "I'll leave tonight; you can have your room back tomorrow, sir." She heard her sister say through the door, her voice shaking and breaking slightly.

"Mira…" Lisanna said to the door. "Mira it's Lisanna… Can I come in?"

She heard a cry from the other side of the door and furniture move, quickly followed by a something shatter and something crash to the ground. Without waiting for an answer, Lisanna threw her shoulder into the door and knocked it open, breaking the lock. She was met with a destroyed room; the bed had been thrown across the room, knocking over the dresser in the process. The window had been shattered and despite where she looked, Lisanna couldn't find her sister in the room.

"Mira-nee!" Lisanna screamed driving through the window after her sister. She caught sight of something dart around the corner and saw a panting Natsu slide into view. "Natsu! Mira just…!"

Natsu looked up and saw that she was right; Mira was flying through the air in her Satan Soul form. Before he could think of what he was doing, Natsu had jumped to the roof of the inn, running and jumping from building to building as he followed the woman. He couldn't believe how slow Mira was right then, he knew that he should never have been able to keep up with her if she chose it.

Nearing the peak of a building, Natsu launched himself off it with as much strength as he could, forcing flames from his feet to add further propulsion to his leap. "Mira!" He cried out once his feet left the rooftop.

He could see the pain and surprise in her eyes when she turned to see him flying up at her, but it was too late for her to avert her course so her two choices were to either let Natsu grab her or to attack him and knock him away. She chose the latter, bringing her hand up in front of him and knocked his hands away from her. Her decision it would seem was not enough to deter the Dragon Slayer. He grabbed the scarf that she had forgotten she still wore around her waist and pulled her against him, crushing his arms around her and her wings. They plummeted to the ground, him wrapping himself around her until his back crashed into the ground, shattering the stone where they hit.

"Let me go, Natsu!" She screamed, ripping herself away from his grip and slamming her fist down on his chest as hard as she could. He cried out in pain, but grabbed her with his one good arm again, rolling himself over forcibly on top of her. He felt his vision blur and he grit his teeth to push the black away.

"Stop Mira!" He cried. "Listen to me!"

"Get off of me, Dragon Slayer… There is nothing left to say, I heard it all!" She shoved him back again before trying to sit up. "You made your decision!"

Mira gasped when she felt a firm hand connect with her jaw, snapping her head to the side with the sheer force of the slap. "You are damn right I did, now stop running from it!" He said, tears welling up in his eyes again. The woman sat stunned, Natsu had never hit her before. It was bad enough he hadn't chosen her, but he had to hit her too?

"What do you want from me then?" She spat out at him after she regained enough of her composure. "You already have my sister, what else do you need!"

Natsu's expression softened and he pulled her into a hug, refusing to let her go. "I told you I wouldn't leave you. Still after all that… You doubt me. Tell me, Mira, what did you hear exactly?" His words were quiet, but she felt like crying at thinking about that night.

"You told my sister… You told Lisanna that you loved her, and she said she loved you." Mira managed to whisper, feeling tears well up in her eyes. After a week of crying, it still hurt.

"You keep saying 'your' sister. That just proves that you didn't hear everything Mira. You always were quick to judge someone for what they say rather than what they were to do." He said quietly.

"I know what I saw!" She screamed again, trying to push her way out of his grasp.

"Do you love me Mira?" He asked, causing her to flinch.

"I've said I do already…. But yeah, even with this I still do."

Natsu pushed her head back and leaned down to take her lips for a moment. "Then you should thank your sister, not be mad at her. She talked sense into me; she pushed me further than I could have pushed myself, made me make a decision."

Mira looked at him confused, frowned through her tears. "What do you mean?"

"I love you, Mira. No matter how I look at my life, you are in it. Whether you find another person in your life or not, I will be in your life. But… I won't go down without a fight. Because I love you Mira, and only you."

"Then why did you tell my sister you love her?" Mira asked.

"Again with it being your sister. It's true I once thought I loved your sister like I do you, but I don't. We were kids and I didn't know what love was."

Mira avoided his eyes for a moment and stared at the ground.

"You asked me what we are. I can't date you." He whispered, forcing her eyes to his. "It isn't enough, I need all of you. I don't want a friend; I don't want a lover, or even a girlfriend. I want you, and while I can't say that I want to put a title to it, there is one for it. I want a wife. I want _you_ as my wife Mira. Maybe someday you will see what I mean when a wife isn't the right word. It could never tell you how much I need you. Words never will."

Mira collapsed against him, her tears running anew. "If it isn't enough, then what is?"

Natsu held her close rubbing her back in small circles, gently pulling her closer with an arm around her waist. "You are." He whispered.

**As always, R & R please!**

**How did you like the ending to this chapter? And no, still not the ending here before anyone asks.**


	4. Betrayal

**I do not own Fairy Tail, Hiro Mashima does!**

Sunlight broke through the curtains signaling the arrival of dawn, a gentle breeze slipping through the room. Natsu groaned and rolled over on his side, absently reaching out in front of him. He could tell she was near, but she was still out of reach. He moved towards her, keeping his eyes closed in hopes of going back to sleep before long. Before he could touch her, he felt the world flip on him as he hit the cold floor. His mind tried to catch up to where he was and what he had been doing prior to waking up. The memories slowly came to him; his conversation with Lisanna that Mira had heard before she ran; his week searching for her and the pain of not knowing how much she knew; then his actual confession to her once he had found her. Everything from there was blank.

Movement across the room caught his attention, and brought his head up to see exactly what it was. There she sat, the woman he had been trying to find for the past week. Something about her looked different from when he had last seen her, her strong outer appearance overwhelming his sight. Her usual happy self was nowhere to be seen; instead she seemed merely content, happy to be where she was sitting against the wall. Though her eyes were closed, he could see that she had been watching him while he had slept. He almost missed the fact that he was in fact in the guild's infirmary.

Pushing his hands under him, Natsu crawled onto his knees before gripping the edge of the bed to pull himself upright. He touched his left shoulder and found that it had been put back into place. Wendy must have treated his injury while he was unconscious. He smiled, knowing how hard the younger Dragon Slayer tried to keep up with everyone. But he didn't see her like he did everyone else, she wasn't a fighter, she was better suited to supporting those that could fight. Most of her spells that she had learned were not for strength, but to enhance that of others. She would be strong, but not like the rest of the guild, she would be more valuable than any simple fighter that popped up.

"Natsu?" He smiled, turning to see the girl that he had just been thinking of. He raised a hand to her in recognition before sitting on the edge of the bed. "We were worried about you. Mira said you passed out after finding her, that nothing she could do would wake you up… How are you feeling?"

The Fire Dragon Slayer shook his head and clenched his fist, flexing his once hurt arm for her. "Thanks to you, I feel a lot better. Thank you for waiting until I had found Mira before healing me… I felt like I should feel as much pain as I could for what I had caused her despite the misunderstanding." He held his hand out to her and drew the girl to him, hugging her gently. "You are something else Wendy." He said quietly.

"Should we wake her up?" Wendy asked in a hushed tone, trying not to wake Mira from her slumber.

"I don't think that's necessary, Wendy." Natsu said releasing the girl and nodding towards their friend to show that she was in fact awake now. Natsu ruffled the girl's hair and smiled over at the now awake mage sitting across the room from him. Wendy looked back and forth between the two before blushing and quickly leaving the room.

"I'm glad you are feeling better…"Mira said quietly while fidgeting in her seat. "But… did you… did you really mean what you said before?" Her voice was quiet, unsure of herself despite what they had gone through together thus far. She knew how she felt about him, and he had told her that he loved her, but she didn't know if she was ready yet.

"I'm not as dense as you think." He responded calmly. "I know the way people are supposed to act when they are together. I've been afraid of what would happen if I admitted to you what I felt."

Mira smiled and sought his eyes, sucking in a sharp breath at the look he was giving her. His black eyes drew her in and calmed her racing mind. "I don't know if I'm ready to let myself go completely. I don't want to become someone else just because we are together." She whispered quietly.

Natsu nodded, but stood up anyways and crossed the distance between them in a few short steps. "What have we been doing for the past two weeks, then?" He asked his voice still calm. "I don't expect you to give up everything and change for me. I don't expect you to start bearing kids because we are together. I don't even expect you to move in with me for good. All I want is you, to know that you want me, to see you smile."

Mira reached out to him, wrapping her arms around his waist and pressing her cheek against his stomach. "I thought I was losing you to Lisanna… I thought when I told you that I wanted you to wait until you decided on your feelings before we… you know…. I thought that you were going to leave me because you had what you wanted and weren't going to get it anymore. That isn't the reason you decided is it?" She asked hesitantly.

"I thought I was supposed to be the slow one." He commented, running a soft hand through her hair. "It irritated me for a minute to think that you were going to force a decision on me, but after a little thinking I couldn't be mad at you. You had told me exactly what you wanted while I sat back and tried to enjoy something I was liable to take for granted. If I had really only meant to get into your pants again, I would have done something far different from hurting you further and confessing to you."

"Then what did you mean when you told Lisanna that you loved her?" Mira asked pushing back from him to look up into his eyes.

"I meant what I told her. I love Lisanna." He said simply. "That love doesn't mean that I love her like I do you. I love Happy and Lucy too, but it has nothing to do with you. It has to do with the fact that I couldn't live my life without any of you in it. I don't want to lose them because I am with you, but at the same time if I lost you, it wouldn't take long before I lost them as well. You are the one I love Mira. You are the one that can make or break this whole thing. Without you, I am nothing. After what I have seen with you, after what I have felt being around you, I don't think I could go back to a life without it."

His admission of what he felt for her blew her away. In slow movements, she slid herself up him before pulling him into a rough hug. "We can never go back to the way things were a few days ago can we?" She asked quietly, her voice dripping with happiness. He shook his head as he returned the hug. "I can't take back what I said. But you don't have to accept my proposal until a time you see fit." Leaning up, she pressed her lips gently to his.

"You do realize this room is supposed to be for sick people, do you not?" A voice called out causing the woman to squeak and turn a deep red before burying her face in his shoulder. Natsu turned the two of them without releasing his hold around Mira's sides.

"What do you want, Ice Princess?" Natsu snarled at his rival. He growled slight before pushing away from Mira slightly.

"You heard me flame brain, get outa here if you are planning on doing something like that. We already know you two are together. We don't need to hear it too." Gray retorted before leaving with a dismissive wave of his hand.

"He's right, Natsu… We should head downstairs to the guild." Natsu looked over at Mira as she spoke before nodding, offering his hand to her before the two made their way downstairs.

**xXxXxXxXxXx**

Natsu sighed and leaned back against the bench with his head over the back of it. After the two had come downstairs everyone had started asking questions about what had actually happened between the two and if everything was going to be okay. Despite their constant assurances that everything was okay, the guild refused to take that for an acceptable answer. They had finally given up when Natsu had thrown Elfman across the room into a set of tables, starting a large guild battle.

A smile spread across his lips as he smelt his mate walking towards him, her scent growing ever stronger as she approached him. He froze when he expected her fingers to run over his hair, but felt a smaller pair touch his skin gently. His eyes opened and he visibly flinched, almost falling out of the seat he was in. "What the… Lisanna? " He asked, confused.

Lisanna giggled and clasped her hands behind her back. "Expecting someone else?" She asked. Natsu sat there dumbstruck. "I thought you were…. Never mind, guess I was mistaken." He mumbled.

"Mira asked me to check on you to see if you needed anything." She explained with a small wink. "Said to get you anything you needed. She emphasized the anything, too. Anything you can think of that you would want, Natsu?" Hey eyes gave off a dangerous gleam, tempting him to ask what exactly she expected him to ask for. He shook his head and gave her a grin. "Don't worry about me, I'll be fine."

Lisanna turned to walk away, a little sway in her walk as she left. Natsu's eyes narrowed slightly as he watched her leave. "Lisanna!" He called sitting back up. "Actually there is something I could use, if you wouldn't mind." A curious look crossed the woman's features before she walked back over to the Dragon Slayer.

"Why don't we get something to eat?" He asked.

"Sure, what can I get you?" Lisanna asked.

Natsu shook his head. "I don't want you to get me something, why don't you and I go get something?" He asked, implying his meaning with a sly smile.

Lisanna jerked back slightly, surprised at his words. "Wouldn't you rather go with Mira?" She asked quietly, casting a glace back at the counter.

Natsu pushed his way out of his seat and took her wrist. "If she wanted to go with me, she would have come over herself. Besides, I'm sure she's busy with something important. I'll just catch her after we are done. She probably won't even notice."

Without waiting for her consent, Natsu pulled Lisanna out of the building into the bright afternoon light. After a few minutes, the girl seemed to relax, taking her hand and intertwining it with his, while blushing slightly. Lisanna giggled as Natsu pulled them into a small café and took a seat in one of the booths. She was surprised when he motioned for her to scoot over and sat down next to her. "Hey, Natsu… You really do love Mira don't you?" She asked quietly once the waiter had taken their orders.

"Why do you ask?" He said raising an eyebrow. "Would it make a difference if I said I did?"

"Of course it would, I don't want someone leading her along only to hurt her further. Besides, after what happened, shouldn't you be with her to ease her mind?"

Natsu snorted a small laugh, propping his elbows on the table then placing his chin in his hand. "I'm only taking her advice and taking you up on your offer at the same time. If she told you to give me whatever I want and you are just as enthusiastic about it, why wouldn't I agree to it?" He asked questioningly.

Lisanna gaped at him and slapped his shoulder with the back of her hand. "Are you really telling me to help you cheat on my sister?"

This brought about another laugh from the Dragon Slayer. "It can't be cheating if you have permission." He reasoned. 'How far is she really willing to take this?' He wondered to himself, giving Lisanna the smile that he had reserved for Mira only. It didn't escape Lisanna's eyes, understanding the gesture he was showing her and she smiled back, bravely running a hand down his leg.

"I guess you do have a point there… Besides, she wouldn't have to know right? All we would have to say is that we had lunch. She would be none the wiser." Lisanna bit her lower lip and let her hand travel further up his leg, their implied discussion letting her assume that he was more than willing. She leaned against him, letting her breasts press tightly against his arm. "Why don't we skip lunch and get right down to it?" She offered.

It was Natsu's turn to look at her with disbelief, but it was quickly replaced by a sly smile. "Oh we can't have that. I'm going to need all the energy I can get." He slid a hand into her short white hair, pulling her closer to his lips, but left a short distance between them. "I'm going to need as much strength as I can get if I'm to have you screaming for me." He let the words wash through her, feeling her shudder under his fingers, but he refused to cross that short gap between their lips. He left it to her to decide how far this was going to go. She only hesitated a moment before pressing her lips fully against his, sealing the deal. Natsu pulled away from the kiss after a moment, watching as a small pout spread across the girls features. "No rush now, we will have plenty of time for that after lunch."

The rest of lunch was relatively uneventful with Natsu teasing Lisanna, trying to get her to drag him from the café, but surprising enough, she let the torture continue. Once he had paid for their food, she all but pushed him against the wall just outside, making an attempt to capture her lips with his. He stopped her with a single finger and a smile. "We might be seen by someone if we try anything out here. Why don't we go somewhere a little more private?" He asked in a husky voice, desire practically dripping from his voice.

**xXxXxXxXxXx**

As soon as Natsu's front door closed behind him, his entire demeanor changed. The smile he had kept giving her through the night fell from his face, his hair standing on end as he looked at the woman in front of him, feeling the way her hands slid down his sides and the light tingle of her lips on his skin. It sickened him and he shoved her away roughly, glaring down at her. She froze with a gasp and started to shake slightly. "What's wrong, Natsu?" She asked shakily. "I thought we were gonna…"

Her words caught in her throat as he approached her, but not like before. He literally shook with anger, his fists clenched at his sides as she saw small trails of blood drip down his fingers. Her eyes widened and she took another step back. "How far were you willing to take this?" He growled, taking slow steps toward her, forcing her back farther and farther until her back pressed against the far wall of the room.

"W-what do you mean? I thought that was obvious… I thought you wanted me…" She whimpered, flinching when his fist broke the plaster on the wall next to her head.

"I don't want you to pretend to be someone else Mira." He spat. He steeled himself and reached down to her neck, touching briefly over it, forcing himself to be gentle. "I told you that you were the only one I wanted, and I meant it. You forget so easily how well I know you, at how well I have come to know how you move."

Mira shook and let her concentration fall, the appearance of Lisanna disappearing in a glow of bright light. "How did you know?" She whispered, shrinking against the wall under his gaze.

"I can smell you. I smell lavenders around you, no matter what kind of soap you use, or what kind of shampoo you use. I can smell you underneath it all. No one can smell like you do, especially not your sister. She has always been more of an earthy scent, more like fresh cut grass." He said stepping away from the wall, putting a few feet between them. "No matter how much you look like someone, or sound like them, you can't move like them. You walk as if you are still in heels, holding yourself high as if you had some pride."

His words cut through her, bringing tears to her eyes with the intent to continue coming. "Then why did you let it go so far…"

"Because I wanted to know how far you really thought I would go, and I think it is pretty obvious what you thought I would do, not to mention the fact that I had to stop you while we were still in town. Do you really trust me so little that you would try to catch me?"

Mira slid her back down the wall and buried her face into her knees. "I had to know whether you actually had feelings for Lisanna still, I know she has feelings for you. How am I supposed to know you won't leave me for her if you get bored of me?"

"You can't." He said bluntly. "That's why trust comes from both sides. If you trusted me, you would never try something like this. What would you rather I do? Laugh this off as a good joke and pretend that you hadn't tried to trick me?" His voice no longer held any piece of anger to it, rather expressing the pain he felt. She looked up from her knees and felt herself sob at the look on his face, at the sheer disappointment that spread across his features.

"I'm sorry Natsu… I know that I should trust you… but I've never felt this way before; I've never thought that I could care for anyone as much as I do you. I wanted to be sure that I wouldn't lose you to anyone."

Natsu dropped to his knees in front of her, putting his hands on her shoulders to look into her eyes. "Just tell me what I have to do for you to trust me, what can I do to ease your mind on this?" He whispered to her, pleading for an answer.

Mira reached her fingers into his hair and pulled him until their foreheads touched. "Marry me. Make me yours again, make me regret that I ever did this." She tentatively brought her lips to his, hovering just before them. "Make it so I can never want anyone but you."

Natsu sat there, feeling his heart pound in his chest before he forced his lips against hers roughly. There was no kindness in the kiss; he would make her regret ever mistrusting him. He pressed hungrily at her lips, slipping his tongue into her mouth without waiting for her to allow him entrance. She moaned into him, pulling roughly at his hair, trying to get closer to his body.

Natsu's hands found their way to the front of her dress and grabbed the center of it, ripping the thin cloth away from her small frame. She groaned happily as his lips found her neck, sucking greedily at her tender flesh, leaving fiery trails of passion. She quickly unbuttoned his shirt and shoved it off his shoulders, crying out loudly at the feeling of his teeth biting into her collarbone at the same time his palm cupped her breast in his rough hand.

"Don't be gentle with me, make me regret this mistake." She whispered into his ear, kissing the sensitive skin just below his ear. Wrapping an arm around her waist, Natsu lifted them both to their feet before tossing what was left of her clothes on the ground and drawing her panties down her legs before he let gravity draw them down the rest of her legs. "Get on the bed." He commanded watching her step out of her underwear and escape through the door into the bedroom, lying on her back and spreading her legs for him in an attempt to give him what he wanted.

A small smile crossed his lips, the tips of his canines showing past his lips. Pushing her legs further apart, he bent down between them and kissed the inside of her leg. Mira closed her eyes and let out a shaky breath at the feeling. She relished in the feeling, her mouth parting as he grew closer to her core.

Natsu blew a soft breath over her lower lips, kissing gently. "Natsu, please…" She whispered. He decided to indulge her and gave a slow lick over her lips. He smiled as her body shuddered against him and he did it again. The Dragon Slayer continued his slow torture before sucking her small bundle of nerves between his lips, giving it a small flick with his tongue. Draping one arm over her hips, Natsu slid a single finger into her wet folds. Mira's hips bucked against him, urging him deeper into her, but his arm held her still. His fingers slid in and out of her gently at first, feeling her body tense up until he added another finger and continued to pump them into her while teasing her clit.

Natsu pulled his fingers from the woman, causing her to whimper at the sudden loss. She propped herself up on her elbows to watch him and let her mouth fall open at the sight of him sucking his fingers one at a time, his eyes rolling back in his head at the taste of her juices. A sharp breath sucked through her teeth while watching him bend back down to her, slipping his tongue into her core. "Please… Oh Mavis…. I'm about to…" Her breath caught in her throat as she felt her orgasm nearing, growing ever closer as his tongue explored the walls of her core.

Bucking against the Dragon Slayer, Mira gasped as he suddenly stopped, her eyes squeezing shut as she tried to hold onto that edge. She waited for the Dragon slayer to continue, but couldn't hold onto it any longer, a whine leaving her throat at being unable to hold onto that ledge. She opened her eyes to see him kneeling between her legs, breathing heavily. Her eyes traveled down his muscular body, tracing every muscle with her eyes. Finally, her eyes came to rest upon the appendage that she craved licking her lips at the sight.

A squeal of surprise escaped her with his sudden movements, flipping her over onto her stomach before lifting her onto her hands and knees. She bit her lower lip as he slipped the tip of his erection over her core, her hips pushing back slightly in an attempt to draw him into her. "Tell me what you want, Mira." He said in a husky voice, trailing his left hand down her spine slowly before sliding it around to grip her hip tightly.

"I want you to make love to me!" She screamed in frustration. Natsu slapped her ass with his other hand roughly, causing her to cry out in shock, her eyes widening at the feeling. A shudder ran through her and she realized that not only was it painful, but she had liked it. "That isn't what we are doing here, Mira. Tell me what you told me earlier." His voice was calm and demanding, as if eager to have her challenge him.

Her hips wiggled against him, her teeth gritting so as not to moan in anticipation. "Make me yours…" She whispered back to him, looking over her shoulder. "Make me scream for you… Make me-Ahhh!" She cried out as he thrust into her in one quick motion. The take-over mage stifled a moan by biting her lower lip as the Dragon Slayer pulled his throbbing member from her causing her to loose her control at his sudden thrust again, digging her fingers into the comforter below them.

His next thrust had her screaming through her orgasm, the walls of her core tightening around his erection. She tried to slump forward to press her head to the bed and try to catch her breath, but he had other ideas and grabbed her arms, pulling them back until she was only held up by his hips and his arms holding her wrists. "Natsuuuuuu….." She moaned as she threw her head back.

Dropping her left arm, Natsu snaked his hand around her chest to palm her breast, kneading into it. He let go of her other arm and wrapped it around her waist, pulling her back up against his chest. "You like the feeling of me filling you?" He asked in a near whisper that she almost missed with the amount of effort she had to focus on her breathing. She had to reach over her shoulder to grab his hair so she could bring their lips together heatedly. "Yes…" She managed to say between their kisses. "I still need more though…" She said smiling against his lips.

He happily welcomed her comment, dropping his hand that was wrapped around her waist to her clit, teasing the bundle of nerves with his middle finger. Mira gasped and felt her body start to tremble against him. "Harder!" She screamed, wanting to feel him penetrate her roughly while he held her body upright. The slapping of their skin meeting filled the room, bouncing off the walls to combine with her cries of pleasure escaping her during her second orgasm, this one hitting her harder than the previous, causing her to sag in his grip.

She moaned pleasantly when he set her on the bed and gently removed his length from her, letting him roll her over onto her back without complaint. Mira wrapped her arms around him and pulled him down to her, pressing her lips to his gently. She spread her hips for him at the burning heat of his erection lying against her thigh. "So eager to keep going?," He whispered, repositioning his hips to thrust inside of her once again, drawing another moan from the woman beneath him.

Mira opened her mouth to answer that she would always be willing to keep going but her sounds were drowned out against his lips as he claimed hers, thrusting his tongue into her mouth to run along hers. He moved his tongue in time with his hips, invading both her mouth and core in a similarly rough fashion. Mira arched against Natsu's body through his thrusts, breaking her lips from his to press the back of her head against the bed. She opened her eyes to watch Natsu smile and grab her legs to pull them up her body to hook her ankles over his shoulders, allowing him to penetrate deeper into her with every thrust.

Natsu found himself biting the inside of his cheek to prevent himself from reaching his climax, but no matter how hard he tried, the sounds of his lover under him and the tight feeling of her tight walls wrapped around his length threatened to throw him over the edge. "Mira…" He groaned out through his clenched teeth. "I can't hold it back any longer… You feel too good…"

Mira smiled despite her embarrassing position and arched her core into him the best that she could, urging his climax out. "Inside…" She breathed. "I want it inside!" Her words alone were enough to throw him over the edge, thrusting into her one final time. Mira cried out in pleasure at the feeling of his warm seed shooting into her. Natsu let her legs fall and moved down to claim her lips once again, running his tongue into her mouth to battle with her tongue.

The two laid there for a moment, greedily kissing one another while they gave themselves time to rest. A moan left the woman when he carefully slid himself from her and dropped to the bed next to her. Instinctively she rolled onto her side and pressed her cheek against his chest, a content sigh leaving her lips. Mira felt her eyes start to close, her mind slowly slipping away as her pleasure came to an end. She didn't even fight when Natsu took her hand in his own to bring it up to his lips, sucking on one of her fingers. The action stirred something deep within Mira's stomach, churning up that desire she knew oh so well whenever the Dragon Slayer was around.

Acting upon that feeling, Mira draped her leg over the Dragon Slayer's legs, taking her hand from his lips to gently trail down his chest, dragging her nail down to her desired location and gasped at the presence of his rock hard erection. She opened her eyes and looking down at it, just to be sure that she wasn't imagining things. It surprised her that he was still willing and ready to go on, but it only further stirred her desire for the man next to her.

Untangling herself from his limbs, she pushed herself down the bed with renewed energy so she could please him further. Once she was lying between his legs she wrapped her thin fingers around him, slowly moving up and down his length. A groan left her lips at the taste of him, her tongue running up the protruding vein, tasting the remnants of their mutual orgasm from moments before. A low growl left his lips at the sensation of her lips wrapping around the head of his erection. She hummed an acknowledgement of his pleasure, swirling her tongue around the tip before dropping lower onto his erection.

Letting go of the base of his erection, she trailed her hands up his stomach, drawing her nails down his chest creating streaks of red irritated skin where her nails had been. "Mira…" He moaned, pushing his hips up into her awaiting lips.

Natsu reached down and grabbed the woman by her upper arms and pulled her off of his erection, drawing her up his body until she was straddling his hips. Without waiting, he grabbed her hips and slipped himself deep within her folds again, groaning at the pleasurable tightness of his lover. Drawing her hands into fists Mira pushed down on Natsu's chest as she ground her hips against his, feeling him move his hips in time with hers. It wasn't but moments before her breath started to hasten once again, her actions starting to grow more erratic as she reached her climax once again.

A soft cry left her lips and her walls tightened on the Dragon Slayer as she collapsed against his chest, her arms unable to hold her up any longer. "I'm sorry…" She whispered quietly. "I don't think I can go any longer…"

A smile from the Dragon Slayer brought a smile to her lips as well. He wrapped his arms around her waist to pull her against him, holding himself inside of her so he could move them off the bed. Mira wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck to hold herself upright when he picked them both up, pushing her back against the cool wall. She moaned his name as he continued his attack on her core, thrusting hard enough to bring sound to their skin slapping against one another with the woman clinging to him as if her life depended on it. She wasn't sure that it didn't, the pleasure he was giving her was more than she could have asked for at the beginning of their contact after she had tried to trick him.

Natsu groaned as he thrust deep into his woman, every thrust bringing another cry from her lips. "Natsuuuu…" She moaned again, rolling her hips with his slow thrusts. "Natsu… please!" She pleaded looking deep into his eyes. "I want…. I want you to fill me again!" She screamed, arching her back to give him further access to her body. Her mouth fell open in a wordless cry at the feeling of his lips on her breast a split second before he sucked her perky nipple into his mouth, grazing his teeth over the sensitive nub.

The Dragon slayer smiled to himself at how far she had gone since they had started. He had never had her begging for him like this and it caused his pride to swell, that he was capable of bringing her to this point, thinking perhaps that he could push her a little farther before he lost control of himself. "If we keep this up…" He whispered to her, sucking on her earlobe gently. "We might have to start living together more regularly, rather than just having you stay over once in a while. I think I am growing fond of the idea of having you around to submit to my advances whenever I'm in the mood."

Mira moaned against his neck, biting down at the thought of him pounding into her every night. "I'd be willing to accept that proposal." She said biting her lip, her body shaking at the thought of being used by him again, but not like she had previously been worried about when she had thought he might use her and leave her once he had what he wanted. Rather, she was excited that he would come to her to satisfy his needs rather than look elsewhere.

Bucking into Mira once more, he felt her walls tighten around him and his thrusts came to a grinding halt as his orgasm rolled over him. Natsu's roar was drowned out by Mira's climax once again before her cry of pleasure turned into a surprised cry of pain when he bit down roughly at the base of her neck, sinking his teeth into her sensitive skin. She wanted to push away from him, wanted to question what he was doing, but she couldn't make her body work. When he finally pulled away, there was a dark purple mark from where he had sucked on her skin, blood dripping down it from where he had bitten through her skin.

Thrusting a hand into her hair, he brought her lips down to his, giving her a taste of her own blood that stained his teeth. "Natsu…" She breathed. "I love you, can you forgive me?"

The Dragon Slayer smiled and pulled back briefly. "There's nothing to forgive, Mira. Whenever someone looks at you, they will know you belong to me." The comment made Mira's eyes widen.

"What do you mean I belong to you?" She asked hesitantly.

"With this mark, I am claiming you as mine. You could remove a ring and no one will know." He explained. "You can't hide this. This makes you mine." A low growl crawled out of his chest, causing Mira to shudder.

"Then how will people know you are mine?" She whispered.

Natsu smiled and pulled her lips to his gently. "Name it, and it is yours."

**As always, R & R please!**


	5. Regretful Actions

**I do not own Fairy Tail, Hiro Mashima does!**

**Keep an open mind in this! The further the plot goes, the more confusing it might get.**

Mirajane ran her hand up her neck with her left hand, shaky fingers brushing over the bruised and bitten skin. In the heat of the moment she had found the gesture sweet, sexy even. She had wanted him to claim her, but it hadn't even crossed her mind for him to go so far. Now, all she was worried about was what the guild would say about it, about them. '_With this mark, I am claiming you as mine. You could remove a ring and no one will know... You can't hide this._' The memory itself was enough to stir desire within her, more than just a desire for his body, but for everything he was. The more she thought about it, the more she realized she wouldn't have stopped him even if she knew he was going to do it.

Mentally shaking herself, Mirajane double checked the rest of her appearance, she had taken a quick shower and brushed the tangles out from her hair, and then had scrounged through the clothes she had brought over to his place while he was gone with Lucy on her mission. She had finally decided on a long red sun dress that held loosely to her body down to her ankles and a pair of heels to go along with it.

Peeking through the back door of the guild, she slipped inside and moved back behind the counter, going about her business as if she hadn't left in the first place, but continued to ignore the surrounding conversations as she worked. Her presence was recognized almost immediately. "Mira!" Hearing her name called, Mirajane smiled brightly and looked up to see who had called her. "Where have you been!? Lisanna cut me off!" Cana, the resident drunk, was currently screaming, her eyes glaring at the take-over mage.

A knowing smile crossed Mirajane's lips and she poured a tall mug of alcohol and plopped it down in front of the woman, holding a single finger over her lips. "I won't tell if you won't." Cana's frown quickly warped into a smile and snatched the mug for a quick drink. "You're the best, Mira!" She called out with a cheer. Mirajane smiled brighter and shook her head, happy that she could brighten the woman's day with such a small act.

Movement over at the other side of the bar caught Mirajane's attention, a flash of blonde and red hair taking up a couple of open seats. "What can I get for you Lucy?" She asked, her smile ever present. "A milkshake perhaps?" She offered.

"Strawberry please!" The celestial mage said with a cheer before turning back towards Erza. "How long do we have to wait for him? He hasn't been in since early this morning! Why don't we just leave him?" She whined, throwing a bit of a tantrum.

Erza glared at Lucy, her mouth opening to reprimand her for being so impatient, but Mirajane cut her off by placing a large slice of cheesecake in front of her. Erza completely forgot about their conversation and snatched the fork from Mirajane's outstretched hands and Lucy gladly accepted the milkshake from Mirajane as well, nodding her thanks.

Erza looked up briefly from her snack and frowned at Lucy. "If he isn't back by the time I finish my cake, we'll just go without him." She stuffed another bite into her mouth and turned to Mirajane, gesturing with her fork. "Do you know where Natsu is?" She asked, going back down to her food while waiting for an answer.

Mirajane blushed and felt her hand trace over the mark on her neck once again, vividly reminding herself of their time together. Both Lucy and Erza looked back up from their snacks, staring quizzically at the woman in front of them who was obviously not paying any attention to them as she was in her own fantasy world. "Mira?" Lucy asked worried, tilting her head to the side trying to find out what the woman was thinking so intently on. She watched as a shudder ran through Mirajane and caught the hickey on her neck, a dark purple with fiery red teeth marks dug into her skin around it. Lucy gasped and blushed brightly for the woman. "Did… did Natsu…" She asked, not bothering to finish her question since Mirajane noticed she was looking at her neck pointedly.

Mirajane blushed brighter, her face turning as red as Erza's hair. She dropped her gaze to the floor in front of her and bit her lip before nodding. "WHERE IS HE?! I'LL MAKE HIM REGRET IT!" Erza cried out, standing with enough force to knock over her barstool, completely forgetting about the half eaten dessert in front of her on the countertop.

A dark aura surrounded the three women. "You won't touch him." Mirajane said, her voice dripping in near physical venom. The sudden change in her demeanor reminded Lucy that Mirajane and Erza had once fought over nearly everything in the past, and that they were bound to explode at one another eventually. "I told him to make me his. Maybe I didn't expect something like this…" she said with a gesture to the mark, still glaring intently at Erza. "However, that is what makes Natsu the way he is. Besides, I'm not too sure he would let you… He has started to be rather… possessive lately…"

Lucy giggled and leaned towards Mirajane. "Possessive how? I think we deserve some details." Mira looked down at the ground before glancing around the bar to see if anyone was paying them any mind and found that everyone was just calmly going about their business.

"Well you see… we got into a bit of a fight… I sort of pretended to be Lisanna to see exactly what he felt for her, and if he would act on said feelings… But he knew it was me and led me along before confronting me on it once we got back to his place. He was angry and things may have gotten a little rough." Mira recounted for them, sparing them the details of how they had ended back at his place.

Growing worried, Lucy frowned at her, concern evident on her face. "Rough? Did he force you? Is that why he bit you?" Lucy gasped at the thought of Natsu hurting one of his friends, let alone someone he had feelings for.

Mira brought her hands up and waved them quickly, shaking her head in the process frantically. "No no no no no, nothing like that!" She finally dropped her hands after a moment, sighing quietly once she saw that they weren't accusing him once again. "I kind of asked him to make me regret the decision of trying to deceive him like that…"

"I can't believe you!" Erza said shocked. "Since when did you become so… so perverted? It's indecent!"

"What's indecent?" The three women turned quickly to the new voice, Mirajane groaned as she saw it was her younger sister. Lisanna was one of the few people she really didn't want to see her this way, knowing her sister's feelings for the Dragon Slayer.

"Mira here was just telling us how she tried to seduce Natsu… While using your body might I add." Mira spun and glared daggers at Erza, vowing silently to herself to pay her back for that comment.

"Oh? And how exactly did that turn out?" Lisanna asked with a gasp, taking a seat next to Lucy. Lucy tapped her shoulder and pointed over to Mirajane's neck, Lisanna gaping at the sight. "That well?" She giggled and blushed. "Maybe I do have a chance after all!"

"I don't think so. He knew it was her all along." Erza answered.

Mirajane blushed brighter and dropped her face into her hands in embarrassment. "Oh come on Mira! I've seen how he looks at you; he even came to me to help find you!" Lisanna said, trying to comfort her sister. "Besides, he made his choice perfectly clear to me… Even if you did steal him out from under me…" She said mumbling the last part, but Lucy heard her anyways.

"Stole him from you did she? I'd say she stole him from me! He hasn't even tried to sleep over at my place in the last month! It's almost as if I'm not enough to keep him company any longer." Lucy cried out, feeling slightly betrayed. "I know I don't have quite the feelings for him, like you do Mira, but still… After all this time I can't but hope that he might have felt _something_ for me."

Mira spun on the blonde and poked her finger sharply into her chest. "That is your own fault and you know it. If you hadn't kept telling him to leave you alone so you could go on dates, this probably wouldn't have ended up happening. He felt abandoned again, this time by a friend. He even told me that he felt more at home at your apartment than he did in his own place!" Mira stepped back and forced herself to take a calming breath, knowing that any louder and she would have started to cause a scene, and people were already starting to look over at them curiously.

Lucy's eyes widened at Mirajane's words. She opened her mouth to explain, but Mirajane kept going, in a hushed tone this time. "I hadn't even planned on making a move for him, but I wanted to give him something to look forward to. The look on his face when he said he didn't want to be alone again, I couldn't stand back and just let him feel that way. I was content with just letting him stay over, just to be company for him. I thought I could let it be nothing more than that, that I could sit back and watch long enough to see one of you two show him your love, but things just kind of happened." Mirajane folded her arms below her breasts and glared between the two women. "He isn't as dense as he looks… He just couldn't make himself throw away your friendships for the chance to have more. That chance that you would drop his friendship was too much for him, so he pushed his feelings away."

Lucy looked down and shook her head. "I tried to tell him, but he said he wouldn't be a second choice. I had burned that bridge a long time ago, well before I had even though of him in that way." She sighed and continued to shake her head in disbelief.

"I don't think that is quite correct." Mira said. "That first night, when you had told him to not come over because you were going on a date, he said he was going home. But when he said that, I couldn't help but think he was going to your place, though he wouldn't have gone in, he would have stayed nearby just in case you changed your mind. I brought him in with me instead, and that had started him to think differently about me. He saw that no matter what happened between us, whether he accepted my feelings or not I just wanted him to be around. That was just two nights before you confessed to him. Now? I think your chances have set sail. We all know him, he is loyal to a fault."

"Then why do you think he would turn any of us down if he would have accepted our feelings at the time? What changed?" Lucy asked hesitantly.

Mira smiled brightly, her heart warming at the sight of the Dragon Slayer enter the guild to take a seat next to Happy, Charle, and Wendy. Their eyes met only briefly, but it was enough for her to see his desire for her despite the distance between them. "He asked her to marry him." Lisanna answered for her, a small sad smile gracing her lips.

Lucy and Erza gaped at the sisters unable to believe what they were hearing. "But… but neither of you are old enough!" Erza said challengingly, making those around look at the group of girls. "You haven't even been together that long, why would you try something like this at that point? Don't you want to wait to see if you are ready?"

"And why should that matter?" Natsu's joyous voice caused Erza to flinch as she hadn't expected their conversation to bring him over. "Besides, she did say that she wanted to wait a while until we can work a few things out." Wrapping his arms around Mira, he pulled her back into his chest and burrowed his head into her neck, grazing his teeth over the mark he had left on her, drawing a quiet moan from her. All four women blushed at the sound and at his bravery to draw it out of Mirajane. "Not here Natsu…" She whispered. "Our friends are here…."

"Why are you two so happy then?" Erza continued. "If she said no, then why are you both in such a good mood?"

Mirajane frowned at the scarlet haired woman. "I never said no, Erza." This caused both Erza and Lucy to look at one another confused before turning back to the couple.

"Excuse me?" Erza questioned. "But… Natsu just said you wanted to wait, how is that not a no?"

Mirajane ran her hands along his arms, looking over her shoulder lovingly at the Dragon Slayer. "After giving me this mark, I told him that he would have to prove to the guild and Elfman that he is enough. That even if they do not accept us, I would love him all the same. However, until the day that everyone accepts us and what we think of one another, we can be nothing more than in love and dating." Her words were soft, but full of sorrow that they would base their love on the jealousy and thoughts of others. "But if we can't have our friends accept us…"

"I don't want any of you to tell anyone about our arrangement. I want everyone to accept us out of their own will, not because they would feel guilty that they are keeping us from being together." Natsu said quietly, staring at each of the women individually until they nodded.

"I do not see why you are so worried about it, I cannot think of anyone that would purposefully try to harm your relationship with one another…" Lucy added after she gave her word not to say anything to anyone else about their proposal.

"Sometimes people do not realize what they had missed until it is out of reach. They will use any means to try to get it back." Lisanna explained in a hushed tone. The five remained silent for a few moments as they let their situation sink in.

"What if someone downright refuses to accept you two?" Erza asked finally.

Natsu dropped his chin to Mirajane's shoulder and gave Erza a grin. "If it comes to that I will just have to convince then. If that doesn't work… Then I will wait until Mira here gets tired of me and tells me to get lost."

"Then what if I refuse, knowing it could push you apart so I can have an attempt to be with you in the future?" Lisanna asked bluntly, concern evident on her features. "I don't want to hurt either of you, but if there is a chance, why would I let that chance go?"

Mira touched Natsu's arms gently and attempted to push against them, but he only tightened his hold on her. Letting out a small sigh, Mirajane peeled his arms from around her and walked up to her sister to stand in front of her. "That is your choice Lisanna; I won't make you accept us. But this is what we were talking about, if people know they have a chance to push us away, they might take it."

Lisanna looked away from her sister in shame, staring at the ground intently. "I meant what I said to you Natsu. I love you. I tried to ignore it when I came back because it looked like you had Lucy, but once I had found out that you weren't after her at the time, I felt the need to try and get you to reciprocate my feelings for you. Even when I was in Edolas, I was drawn towards that Natsu because he was like you. But that was the problem, he was _like_ you…. But he wasn't you. No one is like you… Every time I try to go out with someone, it always comes back to you and I compare everyone to what we had before I disappeared…"

Mirajane wrapped her arms around her sister's small frame, hugging her tightly. "If my own sister cannot accept my relationship, then maybe I need to take a step back and fix my relationship with her first. No matter what will or will not happen between Natsu and I, you will always be my sister. No one can take you from me; no one can replace you as my sister. I would do anything for you."

Lisanna's head came up to look at her sister. "Would you even leave Natsu for me?"

"I won't leave him, but I will hold myself back for it. But, if we grow apart, I will still be there for him." Mirajane responded. "I care about him too much to let him go through what he has alone." Lisanna nodded silently before looking at Natsu, sadness etched into her gaze.

"I can only accept you under one condition… I want a chance to prove to you that I am enough for you, that you really do feel something here… with me." Lisanna's words made Natsu look away, feeling guilty that she felt she was inadequate, that his decision to pursue her sister had caused her this much distress. He never meant anyone to get hurt because of it.

Erza spoke up. "I agree with Lisanna's suggestion. If you do this, and it turns out Natsu doesn't have feelings for Lisanna then I approve. If he does have feelings for her, then it only shows that you two aren't ready for this step. This is a test of the strength of your love. And no pretending, you have to actually try to see what could happen if you opened yourself up."

"Do I have no say in this?" Natsu said frowning. Erza glared at him, but he glared back. "It's good to know that my friends doubt my decision so much." Erza's gaze turned cold, her teeth clenching tightly at his comment.

"You said you would do anything to convince us." Lisanna said confidently. "This is what it will take to convince me, I want you to go out on a date with me and we can see what happens, where it goes."

Mirajane grabbed Natsu's arm and pulled him closer to her, pressing his arm firmly against her chest. "So long as you don't try to cheat to take him from me, like drug him or force him into something… I don't like it, but I trust him and his decisions." She turned back to Natsu and kissed his cheek. "I trust you, but I don't want you to lie to me and say there is nothing just because you don't want to hurt me, tell me about everything that happens between you." She said sternly, keeping her eyes locked on his.

Natsu frowned down at Mirajane, furrowing his brow. "What could possibly happen? I'm not going to willingly cheat on you. I want to prove that I love you, not have sex with Lisanna because it will push us apart."

"what if that is where the night leads?" Lisanna asked. "I'm not saying that I'm trying to seduce you into it… Or that I would actually go along with it, at least while you are with my sister. But if the night ends there, then why fight it? It would obviously be an answer if we did."

**xXxXxXxXxXx**

Mirajane paced back and forth across the cool ground in front of her and Natsu's bed, biting the nail on her thumb. '_Maybe I was too hasty to agree to this, what if he still has feelings for her… What if he decides I'm not enough!_'

As if on cue, Natsu stepped out of the bathroom, buttoning up his single sleeved purple shirt. "Mira?" he asked as concern spread through him. She stopped her pacing and sat at the edge of the bed, taking a deep breath. "Natsu, am I crazy for agreeing to this? I mean… what if it turns out you still have feelings for her? What if you find out you want to have sex with her?" She asked him, looking up into his eyes while wringing her hands together in her lap.

Natsu knelt on the ground in front of her and pried her hands apart to press a kiss to the palms of them. "You are crazy, but not for those reasons. I already told you that I want to spend the rest of my life with you. These past few weeks have shown me that there is so much that I have missed and that you have brought that light to my eyes. You; not Erza, not Lucy, and certainly not Lisanna. With you I feel loved, I feel needed and it only makes me want to prove my feelings for you all the more. If this is what it takes for them to see how much I love you, then I am willing to do it. I'm not going to lie here, your sister is pretty, hell there are a lot of pretty girls in the guild that I have thought about before… But if we always acted on what we wanted, then you and I could have been together sooner. We have judgement and love for a reason, and we act on our desires when we want, but at the same time we have to hold ourselves back. But it's different with you, I always find myself drawn to you, looking at you as if you are constantly changing. Your body, your mind, all of you… I can't get enough of it. I find myself not wanting to hold back, I just want to wrap myself around you and keep you with me at all times."

Letting out a tired sigh, Mirajane ran her fingers through his hair and pressed her lips to his forehead gently. "I just don't want you to lie to her, or to me, about what you think and feel okay? It might hurt to hear it, but I would rather know what you felt than to find out you slept with her behind my back or stayed with me because you felt an obligation to me after our time together. I love you and I just hope you will come back to me tonight."

Natsu let his lips cross the distance between hers and kissed her gently, holding back his desire to throw her back on the bed and take her right then and there. "Do you trust me?" He asked once they pulled apart.

Mira nodded. "With everything I have. With my future and that of everyone I love…"

"Then stop worrying. I will be back no matter where the night ends. I owe you that much… and more." He said softly. "Now I have to go, I don't want to make them mad by being late…"

"Them?" She asked curiously.

"Erza said she would watch from a distance to ensure I'm actually letting myself go, that I'm not fighting with Lisanna's attempts just because I don't want to realize there may be something between us." He explained with a tired sigh. "If you are as worried as this, why don't you join us? Or Erza rather, you can watch nothing happen if it will help ease your mind."

The two shared a loving look before she kissed him and shook her head. "I trust you, I should at least act like I do…"

A knock at the door surprised them both and when they opened it, they both felt their jaws drop. "Are you ready to go?" Lisanna asked shyly.

Natsu nodded numbly and said his goodbyes to Mirajane, promising to tell her everything that happened, no matter how little.

Walking next to his date, Natsu scratched the back of his head and couldn't help but look at her. She was obviously trying to get him to look, and it was working. A tight black strapless dress replaced her usual t-shirt and skirt. Natsu swallowed back a lump in his throat and attempted to avert his eyes from her chest. The thin fabric drew his eyes back down to her chest again, her breasts barely able to remain hidden, threatening to spill out of her dress. She caught his eyes on her body and smiled at him, earning a slight blush from the Dragon Slayer. Taking a deep breath, Natsu could tell that he was going to be in for a long night of temptations. But he knew he could deal with it, people thought he was dense, maybe he could play that to his advantage.

**xXxXxXxXxXx**

Natsu snapped his eyes open and shot into a sitting position, grabbing his head to rub his temples with his thumbs, his head felt like he had tried to dig a hole with his forehead and lost. A groan left his lips and he tried to take in everything around him. He was in his room, that much he could tell, and somewhere during the night he had fallen from the bed and onto the floor, wearing nothing but his boxers. The lack of clothing struck him as odd, but he pushed it from his mind, lately he had been having more than one reason to lose his clothing at night.

A deep breath in revealed more than he had hoped for and he had to take a few slower breaths to categorize what he could smell. There was alcohol on his breath, which would explain his headache and why he couldn't remember what had happened the night prior.

That wasn't exactly true; he could remember a few bits and pieces after leaving his house with Lisanna. He remembered getting to the restaurant with her hanging from his arm, insisting that she sit next to him in the booth rather than across from him. He remembered that she had refused to east unless he had fed her, seductively taking bites of food from his fork to make the time last just a little longer. That had started his drinking, using it as a crutch to keep his mind occupied rather than stare at her curves any longer. It had already started to create a bulge in his pants at her appearance, but it was something he was used to dealing with for the past years he had been at Fairy Tail.

He had gotten into a fight with the waiter when the man had tried to cop a feel on Lisanna while she was bent over the table to reach for her purse that she had placed on the other bench. It wasn't that he had wanted to keep her to himself, but rather he didn't want to see one of his friends fall to a pervert that wouldn't respect her. From there, after storming out, they had decided to go down to the river to talk and catch up a little bit. That was the last thing he could remember, leaving the restaurant towards the river.

Shaking his head again, Natsu grabbed the edge of the bed and tried to pull himself up. Blood. Blood and fresh cut grass. His eyes widened in disbelief and his arms gave out, causing him to crash to the ground.

His sudden fall caused the woman in the bed to stir, moaning softly as her eyes fluttered open. "Natsu…?" She called out upon not finding him in the bed with her. He couldn't breathe, his mind running as fast as possible to catch up to what was here in front of him, at what was staring him in the face. Swallowing the fear that had built up in his throat he forced himself into a kneeling position and braced his forearms on the soft mattress. "Lisanna… Look… What exactly…" His words froze when she sat up, the sheet that was draped over her body dropping to reveal that she was in fact naked. His eyes widened at the sight and he slammed his hands over his face to cover his eyes.

"What's wrong Natsu?" She asked cocking her head to the side, a frown crossing her swollen lips. He sucked in another breath and recoiled, it was really her, it wasn't Mirajane in disguise this time. He heard the rustling of sheets and pushed back from the bed, moving away from the bed until his back pushed up against the wall not five feet from the bed, his head shaking again. "Natsu, please talk to me…" She pleaded with him.

"Please… Cover yourself so… So I can…" He whispered and waited until he heard a rustle again and was sure that she had pulled the covers over her body and let a small sigh escape his lips when he opened his eyes. "Wh-what exactly ha-happened last… last night…" He asked hesitantly, fear etched into his features.

"Isn't that a little obvious?" She asked gesturing to herself and to his lack of clothes. "Are you saying you regret it?" He could hear the pain in her voice and couldn't stop the tears from rolling down his cheeks. He felt like he was being torn in two, forgetting about his headache completely. "You seemed like you were enjoying yourself at the time… Ecstatic even when you found out it was my first time…"

Natsu dug his fingers into his scalp. "I don't' even remember doing it… I'm sorry, but I can't… No matter how hard I try, I can't remember!" His fingernails dug into his scalp further as he tried to force himself to remember, creating small drops of blood to well up and mix with his hair, darkening it. "I didn't think I had that much to drink. Oh my god Lisanna, I'm so sorry… Not only did I cheat on Mira, but I should at least remember doing it! I should at least remember taking someone's first time."

Looking up into her eyes, he kept apologizing before she touched his shoulder and smiled. "Does that mean you have feelings for me?" She asked hesitantly.

Natsu shook his head in confusion. "I don't know if I do, or even if I don't. I can't blame you for what happened; I should have held myself back until I broke it off with her… I have to go find her and tell her what happened. She has the right to hear it straight instead of getting it second hand. I told her I would come home to her and explain what happened last night. Considering what happened I have to tell your sister and break it off with her." He continued to shake his head with fear and guild at his actions. "I don't know why I did it, but something has to be there, I don't just go around sleeping with whoever dresses provocatively. Did she say anything when I brought you back? She was supposed to be here when I came back."

She frowned at him and shook her head. "What would it matter if she had been here? You obviously don't love her if you wanted to do this with me. I told her that if I had a chance to get closer to you, that I would. Now that I have, I don't want to let you go Natsu."

Natsu nodded absently, not listening to her any longer as he pulled his clothes that were scattered across the ground and pulled them on. He felt dead inside, shaking physically at what he had done and at what he was going to do. He didn't even hear Lisanna screaming at him, trying to talk him into staying rather than go to the guild and explain himself as he shut the door to his house and started towards the guild.

Natsu's sudden entrance to the guild caused more than one person to look over their shoulders at him to see who had come in, but went back to what they were doing just as soon as they had looked at him. However, a few people caught the look of dread and panic on his face, the tears that stained his cheeks now mixed with a few streaks of blood that had made their way down his face from the cuts he had put into his scalp earlier. "Natsu-nii?" Romeo asked concerned, running up to his role model. "Why do you look so terrible? Ne, Natsu? What happened?" His presence was ignored by the Dragon Slayer as he looked for the barmaid he needed to talk to.

The sight of the woman made Natsu shake, the woman he loved and had wanted to spend the rest of his life with, the same woman he had betrayed as if it hadn't even mattered. To him, it didn't matter that he wasn't himself at the time, he should always be willing to give everything up for her, and he had done the exact opposite of that. He forced his feet to move so he could walk over to her, every step darkening his mood until he swore he could tell his heart stopped, his face growing paler the closer he got to her. The closer he got, the slower he walked, catching more and more eyes as he moved. Each step added more pain and dread at the fact that he had hurt her, and was about to hurt her further by telling her what he had done. By the time he had reached Mirajane, Lucy and Erza were standing by her sides while the rest of the guild had gone silent, standing up as if they expected something bad to happen, taken aback at the way he was acting.

"Oh my god Natsu!" Lucy screamed, reaching out towards him, but letting her hand fall when he didn't even acknowledge her. "What happened to you?" She whispered.

"Mira…" He whispered hoarsely. "God Mira…" Tears started fresh in his eyes, causing her to take a step back from him, afraid of what could make him act this way.

"Natsu, please, what happened?" Mirajane asked in a whisper.

Natsu opened his mouth and fumbled with the words, but none came out. He fell to his knees in front of her and grabbed fistfuls of his hair, trying to find a way to tell her so he wouldn't hurt her as much as he knew it would, her trust broken from what he had done. "Last night… I-I slept with Lisanna…" His words were nothing more than a whisper, but the silence in the hall carried his words to the rest of the guild. No one said a word, dared to say anything, let alone even breath as they waited for him to explain. "I don't even remember it happening… but it was painfully obvious when I woke up… I'm so sorry… I'm so sorry Mira…"

He didn't know how long he waited for her to react, any reaction at all would have been better than the silence she was giving him. Before she could react, the guild erupted in screams, most of them calling for his blood while others rushed towards her to comfort her. Erza and Lucy each recoiled at the news, screaming at him and stepping in front of Mirajane while they tried to get him to pay attention to them. He ignored them and watched Mirajane, still waiting for her to say anything, to do anything. He was ready for the onslaught of hurt from her.

He watched as she pushed the two women away from him and smiled at the Dragon Slayer, causing him to flinch when she touched his cheek gently. He stared at that smile, the same smile that she had only been giving him, the same one that showed him how much love she had for him.

Natsu looked up into her eyes confused. She should have been angry, should have screamed at him, and should have cried. She should have reacted in some way, not at being relieved. Why would she be relieved that he had slept with her sister behind her back? Why wasn't she screaming, why wasn't she cursing him and everything that he was? Fear crept into him and he thought of the worst that he could, assuming there had to be a reason for her lack of a reaction.

It hit him harder than the realization that he had cheated on her. No one could be relieved after they had been told that they had been cheated on. He was wrong about that smile, had thought the wrong thing about it for so long and it tore him apart. Not only had he cheated on her, but she was telling him that she didn't care, she didn't care because she didn't care about him. Questions ran through his head, had this been her ploy all along? Had she gotten together with him to hurt him, or to get him to turn to her sister, or had she realized somewhere that she didn't care and had seen Lisanna's love as a way to pawn him off without dirtying her hands by telling him how she really felt.

He pulled back from her soft hand and met her eyes as a fist grabbed his hair from behind. "Did you ever even love me?" He choked out, seeing shock spread across the barmaid's face. He gave into the fist in his hair, stopped fighting completely, knowing he deserved worse than what they would do to him whether she cared that he cheated or not.

The wooden floorboards shattered as the fist shoved his face into them. "You fucked up for the last time Dragneel." Elfman growled, spinning Natsu around to continue to wail on him. Natsu let him, the feeling of Elfman's beast fist connecting with the brittle bone in his face hurting less than what he had just learned.

"Elfman stop!" Mira's voice called out as she fought to get past Erza's arms as she drug the barmaid away, muttering that he deserved whatever he got. "It's not li-" Natsu didn't hear anything else, blacking out as the fist connected with his skull for the countless time that day.

**As always, R & R please!**

**Oh shit! What just happened? Did everyone follow that correctly? If you didn't, or didn't think you did, message me or look at the reviews others put up of it.**


	6. Lies

**I do not own Fairy Tail, Hiro Mashima does!**

**Some of you got really close to what I had planned on happening, but no one quite got it right, so without further ado… here it is!**

**By the way! It was pointed out to me that it should have been Elfman, not Gajeel that had attacked him in the last chapter. You are all completely right, and I have fixed said chapter to read with Elfman over Gajeel.**

**Chapter 6:** Lies

Mirajane fought against the arms that held her, growing fearful for the life of the one she loved. Her pleas to be let go fell on deaf ears, more of their guild members surrounding the now unconscious Dragon Slayer as they rained down with attacks, set on destroying the male where he laid. "Let me go!" She cried out. She didn't want to have to hurt them, she didn't want to force them to let him go, but she could not bear to see him get hurt any further. It broke her heart to see him lying there, unable to protect himself. '_Did you ever even love me?_' Those few words could not have struck her any harder than they had at that moment; the look of utter defeat in his eyes had been the killing blow.

Mirajane dug her heels into the ground to slow Era down, but found it was a useless gesture. The woman was dead set on getting Mirajane out of there, thinking she was protecting her from the sight, of the pain that Natsu had brought her. '_Did you ever even love me?_' The words rang out again and Mirajane screamed as the air around her circling in a dark vortex as she called forth her strongest soul. "**Take Over: Satan Soul Halphas!**" Darkness engulfed the mage in the blink of an eye and just as soon as it had circled her, it was gone with Mirajane standing there covered in long blue scales down her arms and her legs, her outfit changing to that of a dark blue, one-piece suit revealing her arms and legs, which is open on the front and the back, exposing most of her stomach, wide cleavage, and upper back. A long blue scaled tail appeared from said darkness in a similar fashion. "Get off of him!" She cried out, giving them another chance. She had to act, if she didn't they could kill him, but she had to be careful as well, if she struck too hard she could kill them.

Mirajane slapped Era's hands away from her before launching herself across the gap into the crowd of guild members surrounding Natsu's limp form. They were too focused on trying to attack the downed Dragon Slayer that they didn't see her attacks coming, sweeping them aside as she got closer. All she could see was blood, his blood. Anyone within reach was either knocked away or, having caught her demonic gaze, froze enough to allow her to get past. The entire sequence from when Elfman had slammed him into the ground and Mirajane intervening by grabbing his limp body from the onslaught took less than a minute, but the broken bones and cuts all along his body paired with his wheezing struggle to get air only proved that she had been right. They were on the verge of taking it too far, letting their blind rage take over to protect their family. He hadn't even fought back; he had accepted what they were planning on doing to him without bothering to explain the situation.

Holding him tightly in her arms, Mirajane threw herself away from everyone towards the second floor. Those that were still standing cried out after her, demanding that she let them get revenge on him for her. She noted absently that Elfman, Erza, Gray and even Wendy had followed her to the second floor, attacking with everything they had, just trying to get that split second that they needed to steal the Dragon Slayer back from her. "You are all pathetic!" Mirajane cried out, protecting Natsu from their attacks by dodging past them recklessly.

"He needs to pay for what he has done!" Erza challenged, jumping at the two once again. "No mage of Fairy Tail has the right to call themselves a Fairy if they are willing to stoop this low and hurt one of their own!"

"He didn't do anything!" Mira retorted as her back slammed against the far wall. She glared at the gathering forces in front of her.

"He admitted to it himself! What more do you need to hear?!" Lisanna's voice caught Mirajane off guard and she spun her head to see her sister just reaching the top of the stairs, anger and pain written on her face. "You just can't accept that he chose me and not you! I gave him an opportunity to find what he really wanted. I even tried to keep him from coming here to tell you in front of everyone what we did, but he was set on telling you himself as soon as he woke up!"

Mirajane's eyes blackened in anger and she shot along the ground, Natsu draped over one of her shoulders as she grabbed her sister by the front of her shirt and shoved her into the nearby wall, casting a glare over her shoulder at the mages before they could attack Natsu while she was trying to fix the situation. "So tell me, when exactly did you two have sex?" She growled.

"Last night, we woke up naked; it doesn't take a genius to see what happens between two naked adults!"

"When Last night?"

"After we took a walk down by the river near his house." Lisanna retorted.

Mirajane smiled wickedly and dropped her sister from her grasp. "So you are telling me you slept with him in my bed while I sat next to you all night and kept you from freezing? I was awake the whole time! When could you have possibly done it then?"

Lisanna's face furrowed in confusion and she recoiled at the anger drifting from her sister. "Then it happened before you got there."

Mirajane turned to cast her glare at Erza once again. "You followed them, am I right? Did those two have sex in any way before they got to his house?"

"No!" Erza said angrily. "I wouldn't have let it happen. Besides, when Lisanna tried to get to him at the river, he was too drunk. He couldn't even remember why he was there with her and kept telling her that he was married. He tried to push her away but they fell into the water, causing Lisanna to hit her head or something because by the time I got up to them Natsu had her draped over his shoulder and was drunkenly running through the forest, dripping wet. He carried her back to his place and you yourself told me that you would look after them and sent me home!"

"Then how the FUCK do you think they slept together without me knowing?" Mirajane spat at the woman. Erza didn't have an answer for that, glaring at her rival as she tried to find the words. The others that were closing in stopped in their tracks as the implications they were saying all lead to Natsu's admission of guild either being a lie, or someone else here was lying about what happened. "Tell me Lisanna. Do you remember anything that happened before you woke up?" Mirajane redirected her glare to her sister, silence filling the guild once more.

Lisanna fidgeted slightly before taking a deep breath and meeting the demon's glare. "He was my first, that much I know." She said loudly.

"Lies." Mirajane corrected. "You are far more honest when you have had a few drinks. That first night you were back, you let slip that Edolas's Natsu was your first and that the physical relationship had been the only good thing about the relationship in the first place." The white-haired beauty stabbed her forefinger into her sister's chest to further prove her point. Letting her gaze lower, Mirajane set Natsu on the ground gently, adjusting his position to ensure that he was still breathing and that the look of pain on his face wouldn't increase from the way he was lying.

"Would you like it if I told you what happened after Erza left? After Natsu brought you home, he kept saying that you would freeze if he didn't get you out of your wet clothes and into something warm, suggesting that body heat would be the best thing for you at the time. After he undressed you and wrapped you in a blanket he begged me to help him keep you warm, telling me that it wasn't right for a man to be naked in the same bed as a naked woman if that woman was not his wife, no matter the circumstances. He sat on the floor next to the bed and watched us lying there for hours to be sure I would hold you and you would be alright. Natsu never slept in the bed with you, I did. He was too out of it to even remember who we were, but he still never went against his word, always claiming that he was loyal to his wife, a wife he doesn't have might I add. He never tried anything with either of us, least of all you in your unconscious state!" Mirajane's voice had raised to a loud roar, causing some of the guild members to step back in fear that she would turn her aggression to them.

Lisanna recoiled once again at her sister's anger. "He still thinks he did it! Besides, do you really thing that they…" She gestured to the guild members watching her. "… Could really give their blessing for your union after seeing what he is capable of!? He thought he cheated on you; he never second guessed it or anything, just assumed that he had done something horrible and needed to admit it to you. If he thought he had done something, then he must have had the intentions of doing something!"

"Why do you want to hurt us like this?" Mirajane asked calmly as the blue scales and her outfit shattered in a bright light to leave her in her long red dress once again. "Why couldn't you just be happy for us?"

"Because I had my happiness ripped away from me when I was younger! I loved Natsu then, before any of you knew that you had feelings for him, or even before you grew those feelings. In Edolas I never saw the real Natsu, and now that I'm back I can't be with him I can only watch him from afar. When will it be my turn to be happy?!" Lisanna cried out. "I will have him in any way I can, even if it means tearing the two of you apart to do it. I know we didn't sleep together! But he doesn't!"

Mirajane dropped her gaze from her sister to the Dragon slayer lying on the ground, pain etched into his features. '_Did you ever even love me?_' "I gave up on him once, stepped back to give him a chance to be with you, and when you left I stayed away in respect of what you had with him. Then Lucy showed up and you finally came home so I was content with just watching him be happy. But when he needed someone, I decided I would be there for him. He chose me Lisanna, I put myself out there and let him make that choice, and I didn't have to trick him or make him believe something that never happened did happen just to make him feel obligated to be with me. That is what makes you and me different there Lisanna. I was willing to wait; you decided to take by force."

**xXxXxXxXxXx**

Silence hung in the air as Mirajane sat next to the bed in the guild's infirmary. Wendy and Porlyusica had both spent a great deal of time to stabilize Natsu and heal most of his major problems, leaving little more than light bruising and a few cuts and scrapes along his skin that would heal in time, but for the time would be a cold memory of what Elfman and the rest of the others had done when they had thought he had cheated on her. They had finished healing him three days ago and Wendy claimed he would wake up when his body had recovered some of its strength, once it had recuperated enough. While the color had returned to his cheeks, he had still not woken up or even moved from where he currently sat.

Worry wracked Mirajane as she wondered why he was still just lying there, why his body hadn't healed enough just yet. His words rang out in her head almost every time she saw his face. '_Did you ever even love me?_' Of course she had loved him, and she still did love him. "What could I have possibly done to make you question what has always been yours?" She whispered to the sleeping Dragon Slayer. She had tried to show him that she believed in him, that he had been wrong about thinking he had slept with Lisanna, that he had done nothing wrong. He had obviously taken a misunderstanding to that look she had given him, that small smile that she only reserved for him. It worried her that the smile itself could have possibly been the cause of all this pain she was still causing him, that if he hadn't believed her he wouldn't have had a reason to come back if he couldn't have her. Did he think he had been abandoned by her, like his parents and that of the Fire Dragon Igneel? She shook her head, she wasn't like that, and she would never leave him again. Now all she could do was wait for him, wait for him to come back to her.

Taking a, slow, deep breath Mira rung out a washcloth from a nearby bucket of lukewarm water. She moved at a slow and leisurely pace, dabbing the cloth over his exposed skin on his face, ever so careful not to irritate his bruises and cuts. Eventually she found herself wiping off his lips with the rough cloth and watched as his hot breath dried the water on his lips. Just sitting there looking at his lips, she could feel the gentle hunger that always laid in wait, ready to pounce at the right moment. The hunger behind his kisses, the pleasantly rough feel of his lips on hers, and the strong fiery taste of him; it all swam through her memories of being with him. "You promised me that you would never leave me, Natsu…" She said down at him while at the same time she pushed his spikey salmon locks out of his face, reveling in how soft his hair was. His overly warm flesh made her frown, shaking her head. She liked that feeling too much, the feel of his bare skin on hers. "Take as long as you need, I will wait for you until you wake up."

A voice from the doorway caused Mirajane to squeak and look over to the doorway. "You should really go get some rest, Mira." Erza's usually rough voice held a small amount of compassion and regret in it. "He will wake up in time, we know that much. There is no point in you staying here while you could be out working and generally taking your mind off of things for a little bit? You don't have to worry, when he wakes up we will tell him everything, from the mistake that Lisanna made by lying to him about sleeping with her to leaving you and everything in between. As soon as he wakes, we will send for you." She offered trying to not show how concerned for her rival as she really was.

"No." Mirajane said quietly, but bluntly, rubbing a hand over Natsu's arm gently. "He needs me here. I have to be here when he wakes… My words are the only ones that can really show him the meaning to my heart. It won't be the same coming from someone else… Besides… his last words to me were to question my love for him. I have to be here to tell him that I loved him, no matter what happens between us!"

Erza folded her arms with a huff and stood in the doorway silently, looking for a way to get the mage away from the Dragon Slayer without forcing her away, in which she didn't know if she would be able to do right now anyways. She watched as the take-over mage gently caressed the side of Natsu's cheek before grunting in defeat and shutting the door to the room to give the two a little privacy for the time being.

Mirajane took his hand in her own and brought it up to her forehead, whispering a silent prayer that he would wake up soon, and that he would listen to reason, listen to her reasons. To have him listen to her admission of her love, that it had never swayed and that it had always been there. Slowly leaning over the Dragon Slayer, sleep eventually took its toll on Mirajane, her body draped over his legs and holding his hand tightly between her own fearing that he would simply get up and walk away if she wasn't there to stop him.

Natsu had indeed been awake for the past few hours, schooling his body to remain completely limp while keeping a slow even breathing cycle. He waited for the woman to fall asleep and for her breathing to even out before he even dared open his eyes. He knew he should have told her sooner, should have let her know the second he had woken up. Hell, he even knew exactly what had happened, and the fact that Lisanna had lied to him in an attempt to steal him from Mirajane. Over the past couple of hours that he had been awake, he had lost count with how many times she had explained it to him, as if she was trying to push it through his unconscious mind just to help him wake up. He thought he was sure to be caught the first time, he had been so relieved to hear her words that he couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. But it still hurt to know that he had gotten so close to losing her, that if she hadn't had so much trust in him, that she would have left him back with the others to do as they pleased, and he would have accepted such a fate. Natsu brought his spare hand up and pressed his thumb and forefinger into his eyes, letting out a shaky breath as he worked on getting everything through his mind and back to the present. He didn't know how long it would last, how long Mirajane would sit there and sleep, but her peaceful smile sucked at him and made him smile. For her, he felt like he could wait an eternity, only to see that smile once more before he died.

Another hour passed before Natsu could work up enough courage to even speak to Mirajane. Pushing against the thin mattress with his free hand, Natsu pushed himself into a sitting position. She stirred on top of his legs, but quickly fell back asleep. He took anbother chance, this time slipping his hand into her silky hair. She let out a breathy sigh before it too caught in her throat and she bolted upright. Their eyes met and he looked away in shame. "Natsu… no, please… no don't look away." She pleaded with him, taking her cheek and placing it on his cheek to look into his eyes once again. "You never cheated on me; you never even slept in the bed with Lisanna. I promise you that, you don't' have to worry."

Natsu shook his head. "I know…" His voice was quiet, but confident. "I heard you say it quite a few times while I pretended to be asleep. I still feel like I hurt you, I feel like I betrayed your trust just by wanting to be with her. I swear I tried not to…"

Mirajane felt a small laugh slip out and she wrapped her arms around Natsu's shoulders, nuzzling into his shoulder. "If you feel bad for thinking someone is pretty, we may have a bit of a problem on our hands. I don't care if you think someone is cute or sexy or anything, but you always have to come to me. I will give you something else to focus on…. You can focus on me." She offered. She pushed back away from him and stared deep into his eyes, a serious look crossing her. "But we need to talk about what you said. I have always loved you Natsu, I always will. Even if something happens between us, I couldn't hate you. I could lose my trust in you, but I will always love you Natsu."

Natsu snaked his arms around her waist and pulled her up onto the bed beside him, enjoying her company while he squeezed his eyes shut. "I can't do it anymore…." He whispered, earning a surprised squeak from her.

"What do you mean you can't do it anymore?" She asked, worried.

"I can't let the others dictate what we are. I don't care if they hate me or hate what we are. I only care about what you think, and what I can do to make you happy. I don't want to marry them, so they shouldn't have a say in the matter of our marriage, or whether we do or not."

Mira sighed slightly and squeezed him tightly, kissing his cheek softly. "Are you willing to pay the price of not asking for my hand from Elfman?" She asked with a giggle. "He may act tough all the time, but he is a little old fashioned. He won't be too happy that you aren't asking him for my hand. Besides, you never really did propose to me."

Natsu smiled and felt a single tear roll down his cheek. "That's because I didn't want to ask. I don't want to give you a chance to say no. You will be my wife, Mirajane. I will make you realize that you belong to me one day, and this is but the first step of doing so."

The two sat there and held one another for a few long minutes, calming one another's racing hearts with their mere presence. "When do we tell them?" Mirajane asked, finally breaking the silence.

"How about at the festival? It should be coming up within a couple of weeks, it would have everyone in a good mood already and we can just add to the excitement." He offered.

"That is fine with me." She whispered closing her eyes to burrow closer against him. "I love you Natsu, I can't tell you that enough."

"I love you too Mira… We should get out of here though, Erza would kill us if…"

Natsu's words froze in his throat when he saw the exact woman he was speaking about appear in the doorway. "Natsu!" She called out, surprised to see him awake. "You shouldn't be doing this right now, you aren't strong enough."

"Whatever Erza." He said gruffly, pulling Mirajane up with him, flinching slightly as the balls of his feet touched the ground. Taking a deep breath he pulled her along with him out of the room and towards the guild hall. Erza wouldn't let up though, storming after the two.

"Considering all that has happened, you two-"

"Shut up Erza." He said interrupting her thought.

"What did you say!" She screamed at him, pointing a sword at his throat. "I'm just looking out for you two! I just-"

"Need to mind your own business." Natsu growled slapping the sword point from his neck. "You are partially to blame for this whole thing happening, if you hadn't agreed to Lisanna's suggestion, this may have not happened."

Erza stood there numb at his accusation. He shook his head. "I don't blame you for what happened; too many things went wrong in that situation. But you need to step back and take a look at your own situation before you turn into someone you don't want to be. Just because you can't admit your own feelings for Jellal to anyone doesn't mean you can try to make our feelings go away."

"Wh-who said I felt a-anything for Jellal?" She asked, blushing and glaring at the same time to try and pretend she did not in fact care for the blue haired man.

"I've heard your whispers to him when you think you have him alone." He said before turning and dragging Mirajane along with him back into the guild. She let him move her, lift her up onto the counter of the bar and watched as he sat on a barstool in front of her before pulling the two of them closer so he could wrap his arms around her waist and lean his head against her chest. She blushed, but giggled to herself at how open he had started to become now that everyone knew they were together. She took the time to adjust her seat slightly before playing with his salmon locks contently. She noticed as Elfman stood and made his way over, an unreadable look across his face.

Natsu must have noticed him as well because he turned his head to watch the man approach, but held out a hand to prevent the man from speaking. "Next time I expect you to not make the mistake of letting me live if something happens." He said coldly. "If you don't try harder, you won't be able to protect your sister."

Elfman nodded his head and looked up to his sister before nodding a second time, a smile spreading across his face as he laughed. Natsu smiled and went back to what he was doing before they had been interrupted, pinching Mirajane's rear slightly, causing her to jump in surprise that earned him a smack on the shoulder.

"I don't think we have to worry about them accepting us anymore Natsu." Mirajane said looking out over the guild, their appearances having changed drastically from when they had thought he had cheated on her to claiming she was his wife and refusing to sleep with her and Lisanna despite the fact that either of the mages wouldn't have argued. Well, if they were alone they wouldn't have argued, he knew that now. But she was more than enough for him anyways so he burrowed further into her cleavage, ignoring the cat calls that were coming from the men around them.

He felt at home with her, it wasn't that he felt at home at the guild, but rather it was with her, wherever she was, that was home for him.

**As always, R & R please!**

**Kind of a corny ending to the chapter, I know. **


	7. Fairy Tail's Festival

**I do not own Fairy Tail, Hiro Mashima does!**

**-Somewhere in Magnolia's forest-**

Mirajane let out a content sigh the second the familiar warmth of her fiancé pressed against her back. No matter how often she was around him or even how many times she thought about it, it still did not feel real to her that she was marrying him. At least that was the plan once they made it official with the guild. It wasn't that she was worried about what anyone would say about them getting married, or even about taking their relationship to that level. What she was worried about was how things would turn out once they decided to have a child. With how protective Natsu had become over her, she didn't know what to expect with a child on the way, or even what he would do to protect their child when it had finally come around.

"What's on your mind, Mira?" Natsu asked, almost as if he could read her mind. He tightened his arms around her waist and pulled her tight against his chest before setting his chin on her shoulder. Mirajane shook her head, not realizing that the sun had dropped significantly from when they had first sat down on the top of the hill. She had suggested they go for a walk before the festival started, but hadn't expected Natsu to suggest they watch the sunset before getting changed. It was times like this that she wished everyone else in the guild could see how calm he was, at how romantic he could be instead of his overly loud and excitable personality that he had while in the guild.

"Why haven't you ever shown this side of yourself at the guild?" She asked, ignoring his question.

Natsu scoffed at her question. "Would you like it if I acted like Loke all the time? All that guy does is flirt and fawn over women."

"That isn't what I mean." She said looking over her shoulder at him.

"Besides, no one needs to see this side of me except you." Natsu whispered into her ear as hit warm breath sent shivers down her spine.

Mirajane giggled at the feeling and attempted to pull away from him. "Natsu, we can't. We are going to be late to meet up with everyone." She couldn't hide her smile as she spoke, laughter filling her voice. She turned around in his arms and pushed him onto his back. Leaning over him, she brought her lips within an inch of his and stared deep into his eyes.

"Just one kiss to tie me over then?" He offered, leaning up to catch her lips with his own. She met his lips ever so gently, letting out a small moan. Time slowed down for her and she let herself sink into the kiss deeper before Natsu rolled them over, parting her legs with a knee while his forearms rested on the ground to the sides of her head. Drifting her hands up into his hair she pulled their lips apart.

"Please Natsu, we have to go. You said we could tell them today." She pleaded, pouting slightly at him. He groaned in disappointment but pushed himself onto his knees while offering her his hand. Holding onto her, he pulled her up with him while he stood up. "Shall we go then?" He asked.

Mira shook her head and stepped back from him. "Lucy and I are meeting up to help each other get dressed. I'll just meet you back at the guild in a couple hours?" Natsu smiled and wrapped his scarf around her neck. "Don't make me wait too long." He said with a wink before watching her head down the hill towards her house. He waited until she was out of sight before turning and heading back down the hill towards his house.

**-Lucy's apartment-**

Mirajane knocked on the door to Lucy's apartment while holding a large back that threatened to break the zipper with how much she had packed into it. "Door's open!" She heard call from inside and pushed the thin door open, then closed behind her. She stopped just inside the door and tried to take in the sight that was Lucy's apartment.

She had only expected to see Lucy, but Juvia and Levy were also there. The three were surrounding Lucy's dining room table in an attempt to pick out their outfits for the festival.

"Hurry up Mira; we don't have much time left! Master said he wanted to do a practice run of the parade before it actually came down to it." Lucy called as she lifted the dress that Levy and her had picked out for their performance held it in front of her.

"I hope Gray-sama will look at Juvia." Juvia mumbled once she finally found her dress. She held the long dark blue dress up against her in front of the mirror, feeling pleased with the royalty like design of it.

"He'd have to be stupid not to, Juvia." Mirajane said with a giggle before setting her bag on the table, pulling out an assortment of dresses and laying them on the table next to the other women's. She hoped that the ice mage would soon stop leading the woman along, whether he were to confess his feelings for her or shoot her down. She didn't want to see Juvia hurt, but it would be good for her to move on if Gray didn't feel the same way.

"You haven't asked us for help before, what changed your mind this time?" Levy asked as she dug through the growing stack of dresses that Mirajane was still pulling out of her overstuffed pack.

"Just a little nervous." Mirajane said hesitantly. She dropped her head down and stared at the dress in her hands, feeling a blush flood her cheeks.

"What about?" Lucy asked tilting her head to the side.

"You all have to promise to keep it a secret." Mirajane said quietly.

"Please tell Juvia, she won't tell anyone."

"My lips are sealed." Levy said making a gesture as if zipping her lips shut.

"Why is this so important?" Lucy asked, but Mirajane stayed quiet, causing Lucy to sigh in defeat. "Fine, I promise."

Mirajane looked down at her hands and absently set the dress down. "Natsu proposed the other day and we wanted to tell everyone today about the engagement."

The three women watched the take-over mage confused. "Natsu told us all that a couple of days ago, but he didn't want us to say anything about it either."

Mirajane scrunched her face in confusion and looked between the three. "What do you mean he told you?"

"He told quite a few of us actually, though I'm sure most of the guild knows about it already." Lucy grabbed a long dark red strapless dress and thrust it at Mirajane. "Here, wear this." Mirajane looked down at it and frowned as it wasn't one of the ones she had brought with her.

"I don't know, isn't it a little too… plain?" Mirajane asked holding it up.

Levy stepped up beside her next to a mirror and smiled. "You will look beautiful for your fiancé, don't worry about that." She said with a giggle. "Lu-chan, would you call Cancer?"

Mirajane sighed, but ultimately gave into the woman. She was there to get help from them; she would have to trust them eventually.

**-At the parade-**

Mirajane smiled brightly as she was lead to her selected spot on one of the floats. The master had chosen out where they were going to all stand, but as far as she could tell, there wasn't a reason for why anyone was standing where they were. He had placed Mirajane at the front of the floats that was covered with flowers of every color. It looked out of place to her, as if nothing there was thought out ahead of time. She grumbled under her breath for about how far the guild fell without here always there to keep everything organized. Maybe she had spent too much time with Natsu and away from the guild.

She was brought out of her thoughts when she noticed Natsu step up beside her, his hands quickly readjusting the scarf from around her waist to drape loosely around her back and her elbows. "Are you sure you should be on here? What about your motion sickness?" She asked before realizing that he wasn't acting sick in any way.

Natsu flashed her a large grin and a thumbs up. "Wendy cast Troia on me, so we should be alright for a couple of hours." He chuckled lightly, looking her over. "Why did you pick that dress? Isn't it a little too plain?"

Mirajane sighed and shook her head. "Lucy told me to wear it, said it would be fine. I should have known better and gone with something else."

Natsu grinned brighter and leaned down to brush a stray hair from her face, tucking it behind her ear. "I think I can fix it if you would want." He offered.

"Fix it how?" She asked hesitantly, but felt the float start moving before she could get an answer.

"Later." Natsu said, taking his place beside her as the parade started rolling. She smiled happily at how close he was and waved to everyone they passed.

As soon as all of the floats were out on the main street and rolling, she felt an immense heat beside her, distracting her from her routine that had been placed out for her. She turned slightly to see that Natsu was covered in flames, his clothes changing in the immense heat. Before she knew it he was wearing a pair of long white pants and a one armed white jacket that fell down to his knees with the collar popped up to cover his neck. She openly gaped at the change of his appearance, at how presentable he was after his attack on himself.

A squeal was raised about around them as the women in the crowd fawned over the Dragon Slayer. A spark of jealousy spread through her at the sight of **her** Dragon Slayer being the center of attention. "Do you trust me?" His voice surprised her, but she nodded her approval of whatever he was about to do.

Natsu spun on her suddenly, flames appearing in his hands before grabbing her around the waist and pulling her to him. She flinched, expecting the fire to hurt her, but only felt an enjoyable warmth through her clothing. A cheer resounded around her before she realized that Natsu had pressed his lips to hers, fire dancing around their float.

A collective gasp resounded around them as the entire float changed under the fire before the two broke their kiss at the top. A quick look around confirmed that something had indeed been off from the beginning. The wide arrangement of flowers had all changed color, the entire float surrounded with purple now. Looking down at herself, Mirajane blushed brightly.

She was no longer wearing the plain red dress that she had originally been in, but instead found herself in a long flowing white dress. She stood motionless; willing her mind to catch up to what was going on. Once again, Natsu's voice brought her out of her thoughts. "Don't be mad, but I couldn't wait any longer."

"What do you mean, you couldn't wait any longer?" She questioned, folding her arms below her breasts.

It only took a moment, but she felt as if an eternity had passed from the time he had last spoken until she felt him taking her hand, placing a rather large ring on her finger. She looked down at it, then back up to Natsu, who was blushing brighter than she thought possible.

"Damn it Natsu! You are supposed to wait until you say your vows before you put the ring on." Mirajane spun to look at Makarov, who had changed position to stand behind the two ever so slightly.

"Vows?" Mirajane asked quietly, looking down at her hand before gasping in realization of what was happening. "You should have told me, I would have at least got something ready for the ceremony!"

Natsu reached up and grabbed her cheeks, making her look up into his eyes. "Nothing in this world could make me happier than you do in this moment than to marry you Mira. You are everything to me, and as far as I can see, you will only show me what exactly it means to never be alone."

A sigh from their master brought the attention back. "Alright, pointless to delay any longer. Natsu do you take Mirajane to be your wife?"

"I do."

"Mirajane, do you…" He was cut off the moment Mirajane leaned forward and captured Natsu's lips with hers, kissing passionately despite the cat calls and cries of joy from the crowd around them.

"I do." Mirajane whispered once she had pulled away from the kiss, her cheeks flushed brightly. "But if you ever try to pull something like this again… So help me, you will wish I hadn't accepted this so easily."

Natsu smiled and brought his lips down to hers again, thrusting his fist into the air with a streak of fire and a resound cry from the audience watching the parade.

For the rest of the parade, Mirajane couldn't let herself let go of Natsu's arm, pressing herself up against his side as if he would leave if she let go. They were instantly surrounded by their fellow guild mates with congratulations. It took them the better part of the hour to finally get away from their friends only to find themselves surrounded by a crowd of fans. "Mirajane! You two look so cool!" Jason, the writer of Sorcerer Weekly, cried out above the others pushing his way to the front. "You have to let me do an interview and get a few pictures of the two of you!"

"Sounds good to me." Natsu said surprising Mirajane thoroughly. "When is a good time for you?"

"Cool! How about you two meet me in Halgon tomorrow?" Jason asked excitedly.

"What about our honeymoon?" Mirajane asked looking up at Natsu.

"Tomorrow will be fine Jason. Same studio as always?" Natsu asked ignoring Mirajane's question once again.

"Cool! I'll make sure to have everything ready!" Jason said before quickly departing.

Watching the man depart, Mirajane blushed when Natsu grabbed her and picked her up in a bridal style before launching them into the air, fire flying from the bottoms of his feet to give them added propulsion away from the crowd. A cry left her lips as the ground sped underneath them, closing in fast before Natsu touched down, running quickly along the ground. "Where are we going?" She asked in confusion.

"I need a little alone time with my wife." Natsu said openly, forcing Mirajane to blush and bite her lower lip at his bold words. "We have a little time before we need to catch the train and I plan on making the most of it."

"We wouldn't be so pressed for time if you didn't accept that offer!" She whined, unable to remove her eyes from the Dragon Slayer's dark orbs.

"Hey, not only does this give us a chance to make everyone understand that you are taken, but it gets us out of town for a few days." Natsu kicked the door to his house open and closed behind him, barely able to catch his balance before Mirajane grabbed his hair roughly to force his lips down onto hers. They didn't part until Natsu dropped her onto their bed, taking his place over her with his knees on either side of her hips. One of his forearms sat on the bed beside her head while his other hand held her cheek gently to lead her lips to his in a heated kiss.

Mira moaned into the kiss, fisting her hand in his hair to draw the kiss deeper, slipping her tongue into his mouth to caress the inside of his mouth lovingly. She felt the rumble in his chest as he attempted to growl at her, further egging her on. Pulling away from the kiss, she captured his bottom lip with her teeth and pulled back to stretch the skin from his jaw.

She let go when he harshly drew in a breath, but barely gave him a moment to recover before her hands went to work on the buttons of his jacket. Thrusting her hands through the opening she ran her fingers over the tight expanse of his abs and up his chest before pushing over his shoulders to remove the jacket from his shoulders. She was pleasantly surprised at the fact that he accepted her dominance, allowing her to do as she pleased for the time.

Using the moment to her advantage, she rolled them over so that she was straddling his hips with her hands on his chest. She moaned briefly at the feeling of Natsu's erection pressed against her as his hands traced along the tops of her thighs and under her dress, slowly making their way closer to her hips.

Grinding her hips against his, Mirajane grinned wickedly at her lover. It was her turn to repay him for his sudden decision today. Grabbing his hands from her hips she pushed his hands up to the headboard and had him hold onto the cool metal frame as she tied his hands into place with his scarf she had been wearing all night.

After tying him up, Mirajane bent and captured his lips with hers, pulling back when he tried to deepen the kiss and instead trailed her lips across his jaw to the base of his ear, biting gently on his earlobe. Her lips teased gently down to his neck before she licked and sucked on the sensitive skin. With every kiss she could feel Natsu's body tense under her, his hips rising to grind against her.

"Nuh-uh." She whispered seductively to him, pressing her hips down on his to hold him down under her. "Let me repay you for what you did today." She offered before moving down his body, exploring his body as if it was the first time she had seen him like this. She trailed her tongue down his tight muscles, tracing over every ridge she met. He shook under her, trying not to lose control of his breathing, but sucked in sharply when she captured his nipple into her wet mouth, licking gently over the tip.

They both heard the strain of metal bending and raised their heads to the headboard in surprise, seeing that Natsu's grip had crushed the bars his hands were holding and had bent them out slightly, but hadn't broken it just yet. Mirajane giggled and went back to what she was doing, stopping at the top of his pants to catch his eyes, licking her lips. She bent closer and bit his belt, undoing it with her teeth while her hands drug down his chest, leaving small scratches down his skin where her fingernails dug into him. She moved away from him slightly to let him lift his hips so she could drag his pants and boxers down his legs without any difficulty.

Kneeling at the edge of the bed, Mirajane bit her lip and openly stared down at his body. She reached around her back and undid the few buttons that held it together, letting it drop around her knees, smiling at the hungry look the Dragon Slayer was giving her. Slipping off the bed, she let the dress continue to fall to the ground, quickly followed by her panties and bra so they were both naked.

"Mira." He growled. "If you don't take this scarf from me, I'm going to have to break this headboard." His eyes never left her body, remembering the feel of it, the taste of her soft skin.

"Just a little longer." She whispered to him before climbing onto the bed and crawling towards him. Without waiting for him to ask her what she was doing, she positioned herself over his face while leaning down his body until she came face to face with his erection. The exact moment she touched him, she heard the resounding snap of the headboard breaking. She didn't bother to look behind her at the feeling of two strong hands grabbing her thighs and pulling himself closer to her, dragging his tongue along her core. She shuddered at the feeling, but tried to focus on pleasing him.

Mirajane bent her head and licked along his length without giving it a second thought, groaning at the familiar taste of him. A gasp left her when he focused on the little bundle of nerves, sending shivers through her body. She had to close her eyes to keep her mind straight as she bent her head once again, this time capturing the tip of his erection in her mouth, swirling her tongue around him.

Not to be outdone by her, Natsu thrust his tongue into her sex, massaging her ass with his hands and smiling when she pushed back into him, urging him deeper into her. He obliged and thrust deeper into her, exploring her with his tongue.

A moan from her caused him to gasp as it rumbled along his erection. His hips reflexively thrust up into her, burying himself deeper in her mouth. The more she took of him in her, the harder it was for him to reciprocate the pleasure for her. His mind was growing hazy to the point that he had to grab her arms and use them to lift her off of his erection and to sit further onto his face, giving him more of a chance to please her.

Mirajane couldn't help but feel disappointed that he had stopped her, but her disappointment washed away in the blink of an eye at the feeling of her growing climax build in her. With a cry, Mirajane arched her back and ran her hands through her hair, trying to keep that feeling of pleasure rolling through her.

Natsu lapped up her juices greedily, digging his tongue deep into her to gain every drop.

Mirajane didn't remember moving, but found herself pressed against Natsu's chest with his lips on hers, kissing hungrily as she wrapped her legs around his hips. She moaned at the feeling of Natsu pierce into her sex, his hands on her hips guiding her along his erection slowly. The second she felt him bottom out in her, he pulled his lips back from hers, his eyes growing wide and his actions freezing. "What's wrong?" She asked worried.

Natsu shook his head and kissed her lightly. "I'm just surprised I didn't notice before." He answered. "Today isn't a good day for us to be continuing with this… It isn't a safe day."

Mirajane brought her hands up and interlaced them with his salmon locks. "Then why are you stopping?" Giggling at the confusion on his face, she bent her head to his neck, biting gently. "I want you to impregnate me Natsu."

"Are you sure we are ready for that?" He asked quietly, but his actions gave away his intentions as he raised her up and down on him. She gasped against his neck and nodded. "I want this Natsu, more now than ever before."

Pushing her onto her back, Natsu thrust deeply into Mirajane, bringing out a loud scream as she moved to meet his thrusts, rolling her hips against him. Natsu caught her lips with his once again, pressing roughly against her in an attempt to hold back his climax. Mirajane dug her nails deep into Natsu's shoulders with another moan, feeling her climax drawing ever closer.

With another cry, Mirajane broke their kiss and bent her back to force her head to the bed as she stepped over that peak. "NATSU!"

Natsu followed just after she did, her walls tightening over him as she tried to draw everything out of him. "MIRA!" Collapsing onto his forearms over her, Natsu smiled. "You would make a fine mother, Mira."

Barely able to comprehend his words, Mira nodded in an attempt to clear her head. "Don't think you're getting off that easily lover boy."

"Ready for another round?" Natsu responded with.

"Until we know for sure that I'm pregnant." Mirajane said seductively before rolling them over with him still inside of her. "But this time I'm on top." Natsu chuckled and slid his hands up her sides. "I don't think we are getting any rest before our interview tomorrow are we?" He asked.

"Not if I can prevent it." She answered placing her hands on his chest while she rolled her hips.

**As Always, R & R please!**


	8. The Interview

**I do not own Fairy Tail, Hiro Mashima does!**

Igneel-

**I'm surprised you were the only one to comment about the lack of Lisanna being in this chapter. Frankly I have been debating about what to happen between her and the couple, but you can be assured that there will be interaction with Lisanna in the coming chapters.**

**Chapter 8 – **The Interview

* * *

><p><strong>-Dragneel Household-<strong>

Mirajane groaned lightly as her eyes fluttered open only to find herself lying on top of her husband. She blushed brightly as the title crossed her mind. Satisfied that she knew where she was, she closed her eyes and tried to nuzzle deeper into his chest, trying to find a comfortable position over his solid frame. Just as she was settling into a comfortable spot, she remembered their meeting with Jason. In an attempt to push herself off Natsu's chest, she found that he had wrapped his arms around her somewhere in the night, preventing her from moving.

"Natsu." She whispered sweetly, trying to wake him peacefully. He mumbled something in his sleep and rolled to his side, still holding her tightly to him. Mirajane sighed and tried to pry his arms from her waist, but failed to gain any ground. "Natsu, wake up." She said, her patience wearing thin.

"Mmm… five more minutes, Mira." He moaned, burying his face into her hair to get a better smell of his lover.

"We can't keep Jason waiting, love. Besides, you are the one who said we would do the interview." Mirajane commented pushing against his chest once again.

Natsu chuckled and let her go, watching her sit up. "Thinking about another man already? We haven't been married a full day yet." He teased. "Maybe I need to bring your mind back to me."

Mirajane turned a heated gaze towards him, her blue yes darkening from his teasing. Before she could open her mouth to scold him, he sat up and captured her lips gently. She pushed him away, trying to hide the smile that threatened to break her angry façade. "You make breakfast while I shower." She said sweetly while standing up on weak legs, stumbling slightly before making her way to the bathroom.

Natsu couldn't help but feel a little proud at the fact that their passion had taken its toll on her. Staring at the closed door to their bathroom he grinned and silently slipped into the small room. Reaching over to her, he slid his hand down her back, Mirajane jumping in surprise at the sudden touch. His hands grabbed her waist and spun her around quickly, crushing his lips over her while backing her into the shower, ignoring her protests that they wouldn't have enough time.

A soft cry left her lips as her back met the cool tile wall. The contrast of the hard cool wall behind her and the strong warm body in front of her made her knees weak and she finally gave into his advances. Wrapping an arm around his neck, she pulled herself closer to him, hovering her lips close to his. "If you make us late, there will be hell to pay." She said seductively before wrapping a leg around his waist.

"It will worth being late for." He whispered before dropping her lips over hers and picking her up so her other leg would wrap around him.

* * *

><p><strong>-Halgon Train Station-<strong>

Natsu barely waited long enough for the doors to open before he shoved passed them to flop on the ground. "Solid ground. I swear I will never ride in one of those contraptions again!"

Mirajane sighed and pat his head gently. "Next time, don't give us such a small window to get somewhere if you don't want to take the train."

Natsu smiled and pushed himself to his feet, having regained the color in his cheeks. "Let's get this done so we can have some time for ourselves before we head home."

Mirajane blushed lightly but grabbed his hand and started pulling him along towards the studio that she was so familiar with. She wove them along the streets, ignoring the small glances people in the town were giving her. It took her a moment to remember that not too many people knew that they had gotten together in the first place, which alone wouldn't have been enough to explain the ring on her hand. Biting her lip, she ignored everyone and focused on leading Natsu down towards the studio.

Once they were finally in front of the large building she couldn't help but remember when they had first started their secret relationship. A shudder flowed down her spine at the memory of her excitement of being caught by their friends.

"You alright Mira?" Natsu asked, bringing her out of her memories. She nodded and pushed the doors open. "Just remembering the last time I was here." She answered over her shoulder.

"Mirajane! It is so good to see you again!" Cried out the receptionist before she ran around her desk to tackle into the mage. The only two stayed standing because Natsu had been standing behind Mirajane and had stopped them from falling. "Jason came back last night in a flurry of emotions, crying about how you got married, and to someone in your guild no less!" She was practically squealing with excitement, ignoring Natsu who stood with his arms crossed. "No one knew you were even in a relationship. Is that why you didn't finish the swimsuit shoot last time?"

Mirajane held her thin smile on her face as irritation ate away at her patience. "Cecilia, let me introduce you to Natsu Dragneel, my husband."

It was as if the woman hadn't even realized that Natsu was there until Mirajane pointed him out. Her mouth fell open at the realization of who stood in front of her. "The Natsu Dragneel? Fairy Tail's very own Fire Dragon Slayer? Why didn't you say so sooner? We could have prepared something! It's your first time here correct?"

Natsu stared curiously at the woman. It wasn't that he didn't enjoy it when people recognized him, it just made him feel awkward when they fawned over him. Almost as if they expected him to perform tricks like a common magician. It irritated him. "We were a little busy celebrating our wedding to tell people who she married. That's why I agreed to this, I want everyone to know Mira is taken."

Mirajane looked up into Natsu's onyx eyes and felt a rush of joy spark through her. "Can you direct us to wherever Jason ran off to so we can proceed with the interview?" She asked Cecilia without removing her eye's from Natsu's. Her breath sucked in sharply as his hand cupper her cheek. His simple touch should not have had this profound effect on her, but she couldn't help it.

"Awww." Cecilia said watching the two interact. "You two are so cute together. It is about time we found young love like yours to place on our centerfold."

Natsu spun his head to the woman, glaring daggers. "If you want to keep this studio in one piece, make sure the pictures are cleared through me before they are printed."

Mirajane slapped his shoulder and glared up at him, losing her smile. "Don't be rude Natsu. They haven't done anything wrong."

"Enough men ogle you as it is." He mumbled to himself while gesturing for Cecilia to lead the way. The blinking receptionist stood stunned for a moment before regaining her composure and spinning to lead them down a long hallway, though missing the same pep she had just moments prior. Natsu took Mirajane's hand in his own while they walked, refusing to acknowledge that he could have done something wrong.

Cecilia opened a door and stepped aside to reveal a long couch with chairs creating a half circle in front of it with a table in the center. Mirajane gently touched the woman's arm and smiled. "Don't mind him; his bark is worse than his bite."

"I beg to differ." Natsu commented before taking a seat, smiling up at the two women. He blew a small flame in a huff.

"Okay, yeah. He's right. His bite is far worse than his bark. But you don't have to worry about any of that, I can keep him in line." Mirajane said with a small laugh before taking her seat next to Natsu.

Cecilia nodded nervously and bowed her head. "I will go grab Jason then. Please make yourselves comfortable."

Mirajane waited until the door shut before turning around and slamming her fist on his chest. "Why do you have to be so rude? It's their job to take pictures and get all of the details."

"I don't care." Natsu said narrowing his eyes. "You are mine now. I should be the only one to see you so… I don't know the word for it."

Mirajane sighed and leaned into his side. "I understand what you are trying to say. Tone it down a little thought wouldn't you? I know you mean well, but we can't keep causing problems for others just because it doesn't make you feel comfortable."

Natsu frowned and stared at her sideways for a moment before a smirk crossed his lips. Grabbing her waist he pulled her to sit in front of him with her back to his chest. Mirajane leaned back into him and shook her head. "You can't just expect to get away with everything by pulling me against you, you know that right?"

Natsu kissed the soft skin of her shoulder before placing his chin there to watch the door open. "I can try." He whispered to her as Jason revealed himself, a bright smile lighting up the reporter's features.

"When I woke up this morning, I still couldn't believe that Mirajane the Demon married her friend Natsu the Salamander! Thank you again for taking the time to sit down with me so soon after your moment!" Jason said sliding into his seat across from the two, pulling out a small lacrima powered recorder to drop it on the table.

"We are happy to be here, Jason." Mirajane said relaxing against her husband.

"I have to ask, how did the two of you end up together? You two don't seem like a typical couple." Jason asked leaning forward expectantly.

Natsu scoffed, wrapping his arms tighter around Mirajane's waist. "She offered me the chance to sleep with her." Natsu said bluntly.

"W-what?" Jason asked, his eyes widening as he darted between the two, taking great notice of Mirajane's blush.

"Don't lead with something like that! Jason, it wasn't like that, let me explain!" She said holding her hands up in front of her. "I had been watching him for quite a while, nearing three years before I got a chance to make him see me as something more than a friend. At first, it was just that, as a friend. He wasn't having a very good week, what with his partner being on another date, and I noticed he was acting strangely. Turns out he was lonely, so I offered him a place to stay so he wouldn't feel alone, at least for a night."

"Then what did he mean by you offering him the chance to sleep with you?" Jason asked, intrigued completely.

"In a way, yes I did offer him a chance to sleep with me. But that was what it was about, sleep. Well… at least that was how it started; just enjoying one another's company while we figured out what was between us. There were a few bumps in the road, quite a few misunderstood words… I didn't think we would get past them at the time, I had doubted what he actually felt for me." Mirajane said quietly, recounting the events that had tried to tear them apart. "But Natsu has always been very… persuasive. He made me realize a few things, and frankly. To tell you the truth, I'm surprised to be sitting her like this."

"I told her I didn't want her as my wife." Natsu said bluntly.

Jason's mouth fell open and he sputtered, trying to find words to fit the situation. "I don't think I understand here. You don't want to be married to her?"

Natsu shook his head. "I love her, don't get me wrong. I would do anything for her, but marriage isn't quite the right step that I feel. Husband and wife… Just doesn't seem right." Mirajane ran her hands along his arms and gave his wrists a gentle squeeze, reassuring him that she knew what he meant.

"I'm still not following…" Jason said with a large frown, his eyes furrowing while his naturally happy exterior faded completely. "If you don't want to be married, then why did you make that grand gesture at the festival? It was quite the site to behold. Even you looked surprised Mirajane."

Mirajane nodded and blushed. "We had agreed to be married yes, but I thought we were just going to tell everyone we knew about our plans at the festival. Natsu decided it wasn't soon enough and got the guild to help him with the impromptu wedding. I couldn't have been happier."

"Maybe you lost me somewhere. I thought you told her you didn't want to marry her, Natsu." Jason said scratching his head.

"I think I can explain that better than he can." Mirajane said happily. "It's pretty strange really, but it was his way of telling me that he loved me. Titles don't mean much to Natsu, at least not in the normal sense that you and I do. He loves me and wants me to be with him, but he doesn't care for the title."

"Words and promises can only take you so far." Natsu explained. "A ring can easily be removed and without it, no one knows that you are married, or even that you have someone that close to you. I don't want something that can fall apart so easily, but it was important to her. Important to have it official, even though the two of us had decided we didn't care what anyone else thought about us being together."

Mirajane sighed and shook her head. "We aren't explaining it right. Natsu is one of a kind in the way he thinks. I understand that no matter what title I give him; boyfriend, lover, husband… none of it matters to him. All he asks from me is that I stay with him. As long as I'm-"

"She's mine." Natsu said interrupting her. "I don't care what she calls me, but she is mine. If it takes me proposing to her for her to realize that I won't give up on her, then I would gladly do it."

Jason tried to understand just what the Dragon Slayer was saying. "You make it sound as if everything was so simple, that just being with her is enough for you." He was silent for a moment before grinning. "It is far more complicated than that, but the way you say it only makes me want to believe you." Natsu smiled at his comment and kissed Mirajane's cheek.

"Natsu never follows the rules that society lays out for him." Mirajane responded. "But that's what makes him who he is."

Jason stared happily at the two lovers in front of him before shaking his head. "Anyways, what about kids? Have you discussed that yet?"

"It's too late to discuss it." Mirajane said smiling. "One thing lead to another and it just sort of happened." Natsu ran a hand over her abdomen gently. "She's already pregnant."

This caught Mirajane by surprise and she jumped slightly. "And how do you know that?" She asked quickly before she remembered about his particular senses.

"Call it a hunch, there is just something different about you today. I just know." He said finally. "Besides, we need to get an early start. I want at least twelve kids!"

Mirajane laughed and shook her head. "Maybe twelve is too many Natsu. I was thinking more along the lines of two."

"Six."

"Two."

"Four."

"Two."

Natsu sighed and smiled, "Two would be lovely, I'd take one if it meant it was yours."

Jason chuckled at the two as he took down what they were saying, hoping to add it to their article. "Now, I understand you both lost your parent's at a young age, is this another thing that brought you together? Something in common?"

Natsu grew quiet and looked down. "We aren't the same when it comes to that. Yes, we both lost our parents, but it isn't the same. She lost her parent's, mine gave me up. Twice. I don't know who my actual parents are, but my father, Igneel left seven years ago. Just up and left one day."

Jason opened his mouth to say something soothing but closed his mouth promptly, unsure of what to say. Mirajane turned in his arms and wrapped an arm around his neck, pulling his forehead to hers. "My parents died leaving me with my two siblings. Natsu was left alone and while I want to say I know his pain, I don't. But I know how much it means to him to have someone leave; all I can do is promise to stay with him." The two shared a gentle kiss and they saw a flash in the room that indicated someone had taken a picture.

"We should get to over to the studio so we can take your pictures, I trust you brought your dress Mira?" Jason asked raising an eyebrow.

"But of course!" Mirajane said pulling her pack over to her. "I'm afraid I can't redo that trick Natsu pulled yesterday." She added quietly.

Grabbing the recorder, Jason stood up and smiled even brighter. "Let's be about this then, we can get you to wardrobe to get changed." He barely waited long enough to see them get up before heading out the door to lead them down the long hall once more.

* * *

><p>Once changed, Mirajane looked at herself in a mirror to check out her dress once again, smiling brightly at the dress. She hadn't taken the time to look at it thoroughly while she wore it. The white dress hung tightly over her shoulders and hugged her curves down just past her thighs where it fanned out enough that she could comfortably move, though her strides had to be much shorter than she was used to. She knew if she had to, she would be unable to run without tearing the dress. The lace that draped over her shoulders rubbed gently over her skin whenever she moved, sending shivers down her back. She had no idea how Natsu had thought up such a dress in the first place, or even at how he had figured out her measurements. Reminding herself to ask him about it, she left the dressing room to the large open room where they would take their pictures.<p>

There he stood once more, standing in the same white suit he had been in when he had admitted that they were in fact getting married. The wide collar of his undershirt rose up over his jacket's collar. The jacket itself hung just past his knees and before she knew it, she found herself staring at him. She couldn't turn away. She had always known he had a great body, but she couldn't help but think that he looked better dressed up like this. He looked more mature, more refined; even sexier if that was even possible. It was the draw that the clothes had the hidden skin that she was used to seeing and it only made her want to strip him again.

She blushed lightly when his eyes turned up to hers, his eyes burning with desire. She knew it wasn't the same desire that he had shown her earlier, it was stronger. He wasn't telling her that he wanted her for her body right then, it was that he wanted **her**, he wanted everything about her. She planned to give it to him and crossed the short distance to her, stopping just a step away from him. She was caught off guard when he took her hand gently in his and brought it up to his lips.

"You are more beautiful now than you were before." He said quietly, unaware of everyone in the room watching them. "I didn't think it was possible, but seeing you in this dress again could over improve upon your beauty. If I saw you a hundred times, each time would only be more beautiful."

The silence around them finally brought Natsu's mind to the present, back to where they were standing and he blushed brightly. Mirajane smiled even more and winked at him. "Even the great Natsu Dragneel gets embarrassed, this is good to know." Leaning towards him, she kissed the tip of his nose. Another flash brought their heads over to Jason who stood there with a camera in his hands just a short distance from them, but kneeling on the ground to get a picture below them.

"This is good!" Jason cried out, gesturing for the two to get closer together. "I want to recreate that moment in which you were surprised to have Natsu standing next to you when he gave you your ring. That moment when you realized you were getting married at the festival." He explained.

Mirajane smiled and looked up at Natsu loving the gentle look in his eyes. "That shouldn't be too hard." She whispered to herself. She stared deep into her husband's eyes and shivered as one of his hands slipped across her hip while the other hand took her chin in between his thumb and forefinger to tilt her head back just enough to capture her lips softly. Mirajane gasped into the kiss, only tempting Natsu to deepen it, but he held himself back knowing full well that the eyes on them would judge them if he did. He ignored the flashes of light surrounding them and before he knew what he was doing, he was pulling away from the kiss to kneel on one knee on the ground in front of her. Taking her left hand in both of his, he kissed the back of it before looking up at her happily.

Mirajane smiled down at the man and cupped his cheek, watching him lean into it with closed eyes. Bending over at the waist she brushed the hair out of his eyes and pressed her lips to his forehead. Only the absence of the flashing lights brought her back up. She met eyes with Jason confused, wondering if they hadn't done what he had wanted.

Jason, for his part, stood there with the camera loosely held in his hands. "I see now why you didn't bother to tell anyone about your relationship, Mirajane. You really don't care what anyone else things of you. I think we have enough pictures with your wedding attire, would you mind staying to complete the pictures we couldn't get the last time you were here?"

Mirajane frowned and looked down at Natsu, who hadn't moved from his place on the ground. He nodded slowly and dropped her hand. "Its fine Mira, I know it's something I would have to deal with eventually. The sooner the better I guess."

Mirajane sighed and shook her head. "I won't do it if it makes you uncomfortable." She responded with a small smile.

"I have an idea." Jason spoke up, cautiously interrupting the two. "Why don't you two do it together?"

Natsu stood and frowned over at the reporter. "You trying to tell me you want to see me in a bathing suit?"

Mirajane laughed and took his hand in hers. "He is trying to say that he would rather get his pictures with you in them than to not get them at all." She said pulling him along towards the dressing room. She shut the curtain behind them and quickly walked over to the clothing rack to start searching for something to wear, as well as something to match for him. She grabbed a pair of black swim trunks with red lining for him and tossed them over before grabbing a matching two piece for herself.

She jumped slightly when she felt his fingers nimbly undoing the buttons on her back before helping her out of her clothes and setting her dress aside gently. She moaned gently at his touch when his fingers attempted to disrobe her from her undergarments. "You know I can do this myself right?" She whispered.

Natsu chuckled and shook his head at her. "That's no fun, Mira." She waited until she was completely naked before turning around to help him out of his clothes. "What would they say if they caught us in this situation?" He asked winking down at her.

Mirajane kissed his bare chest and smiled. "Don't get excited just yet, we still have a couple of hours before they will let us go." Shoving the trunks into him she stepped away to pull her own swimsuit on. "The sooner we get out there, the sooner we can…" She lost her words seeing him standing there, his eyes taking in her naked form. "Stop looking at me like that." She said weakly, desire churning in her stomach. "Get dressed." She tried to make her words sound strong and confident but they still came out weak willed and quiet.

Natsu shook his head and smirked again before pulling the trunks on. "Leave your hair down." He told her when she had started to put her hair back in a ponytail. He waited for her nod before taking a step back to watch her more, blocking her way out of the room. He folded his arms in front of him as if expecting something and she smiled knowingly. The distance closed quickly and she captured his lips, but only kissed him long enough to feel him loosen up. It gave her the chance to slip around him and out of the room before he could react, leaving him mumbling in frustration.

Taking in the change of scenery she headed directly for the beach setup that they had prepared for the shoot. "How would you like us?" She asked Jason, who was knelt by a beach blanket that covered sand.

"Originally, we had planned to have you laid out on this, but with Natsu…" Jason said, trying to think.

"I got it." Mirajane said quickly, motioning him to move out of the way before pushing Natsu down onto his back. He pushed himself up on his elbows to look at her questioningly, but kept his mouth closed knowing she had a plan. He leaned back slightly as she moved over him, kneeling with one leg between his while the other took residence on the outside of his hip. She placed a forearm on the ground behind his head while her other hand lay on his chest. She leaned down close to him, her hair falling over her right shoulder past his left side. There were only inches between them, but to her it felt as if she was lying across his body, the heat of him penetrating the space between them.

Mirajane heard a low whistle come from Jason and knew she had picked a good position. He moved up to them and ever so slightly moved their limbs, but not changing the scene too much except to give the camera's a better look. Flashes around them filled the air with gentle clicks while the two watched one another. "I don't know how much of this I can take." Natsu admitted, blinking slowly.

Mirajane smiled lovingly down at him and winked. "Tell you what. If you let them do what they have to, I'll make it up to you tonight."

Natsu repositioned to balance on one elbow while his other snaked into her hair to take ahold of the back of her neck, pulling her forehead against his own. "And how am I supposed to wait that long?" He questioned quietly. Mirajane sighed at the feeling of his warm fingers against her skin and closed her eyes. "The anticipation." She said simply.

* * *

><p>Natsu sighed and pushed his hair out of his eyes, unable to believe that they had been stuck at the studio for three hours after the swimsuit shots. Mirajane all but clung to his side, her breathing slow and heavy. She was just as exhausted as he was, but he knew his job well and knelt on the ground in front of her. "Get on." He commanded, grabbing her hand and pulling her against his back. It took her a moment to see what he was after, but quickly climbed onto his back with her arms wrapped around his neck while he grabbed a hold of her legs to prevent her from falling.<p>

She snuggled into his back and kissed his cheek with a smile. "How did I get so lucky to get you?" She asked curiously, giggling as he shuddered.

"Easy." He said, changing her position slightly to get a better grip. "You seduced me and made me promise to marry you before I could get my head on straight."

Mira huffed out a breath and shook her head against his back. "If anything, you were the one to seduce me, leading me to take the measures I had to resort to to get you in my bed. What with you walking around half naked all day, every day."

Natsu laughed lightly to himself. "So you were checking me out all this time?" He asked with obvious lust lacing his voice.

"Kind of hard not to when that vest of yours is always open, displaying your stomach whenever you got into a fight with Gray." She said quietly, hardly believing she was admitting this to him. "You don't know how hard it was to just stand back and watch everything you did Natsu. You never even had to try and I was yours."

"All the more reason for me to try now that I have you." He said plainly. "I just have to keep you around long enough to keep you from running away."

Mirajane kissed the soft skin on the back of his neck and shook her head. "You don't realize how bad I have it for you. I don't think I could go on without you Natsu. You are everything to me now."

Natsu stopped and set her down on a bench next to the fountain in the center of town, squatting down in front of her. "Do you know what you do when you say something like that to me? It warms my heart and breaks it at the same time. I couldn't imagine a life without you, but I know that one of these days I might disappear from this world. We both know what it means to be Fairy Tail mages. That's why I want a family with you so much, if anything happens to me, I want to leave behind something that will remind you of me so you won't forget what we have."

Mirajane felt slow tears roll down her cheeks. "I know that one day we might get separated, but until that day comes I want to be with you. I can't go back to a life without waking up with you."

"Then we get stronger so that day won't come for a while, or ever if we can help it. We have to be strong enough to protect our child, stronger than we are now." He pressed his lips to hers roughly for a moment before pulling away. "What do you say we stay away from the guild for a couple of weeks? I have somewhere I want to take you."

Mirajane tilted her head to the side. "What about our honeymoon?"

Natsu chuckled. "That's where I want to take you. I want to show you where I used to live…. Back when I was with Igneel. I couldn't imagine a better place to start our family than where mine ended." He smiled and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling the two of them together so he could hold her. "I love you Mira."

"I would be honored Natsu… I would be honored to start a family where you spent most of your life." She whispered into his hair. "I don't think I could love you any more than I do now, but knowing you… I'd be surprised if you didn't find a way for me to love you more."

**As always, R & R please!**

**By the way, taking a small break from this story to devote more time to my main story (Love, Rejection, and a Disappearance). **

**Only your reviews can bring me back sooner, though it should only be about two weeks for me to get caught up with the other story.**


	9. Preparing For The Trip

**I do not own Fairy Tail, Hiro Mashima does!**

**Sorry for being away for as long as I have been, here is the next chapter. Hope you enjoy it.  
>Expect more chapters faster; I've gotten a bit of inspiration lately, so by the time this is posted I should be started on the next chapter already.<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 9: Preparing For The Trip<strong>

Mirajane wrapped her arms tightly around Natsu's neck and rested her head against his back contently as he carried her through the streets towards their hotel. She smiled to herself and closed her eyes to enjoy his warmth. Natsu, for his part, gently held his wife's legs and kept up a slow but steady pace down the ever busy street. Mirajane moved against his back, squirming until she found the spot that she wanted. "Natsu I'm hungry." She complained, knowing it wouldn't take much to convince her husband to make a detour to ease his ever present hunger.

Natsu squeezed her legs briefly before grunting an agreement, his eyes searching for their new destination. Everything he found was packed but eventually he settled for a random restaurant. Luckily Mirajane was recognized almost immediately by the staff and they were placed in a booth off in the corner of the restaurant. "Maybe your fame isn't so bad sometimes." Natsu offered, letting his wife off his back before sitting next to her in the booth, clearly wanting to be close.

"What can I get for you?" The waiter asked as soon as he stepped up to the table. Natsu didn't even bother to pick up the menu, his hunger gnawing at him audibly. "One of everything." He said quickly before looking over to Mirajane.

"I'll have a salad and… two bowls of the stew." She said with a smile before handing the menus to the waiter. "So…" She said returning her attention to the man sitting next to her. "Where exactly are we going?"

Natsu leaned against the table and dropped his chin into his hand, taking notice that she had ordered more than she usually did. 'Maybe she is just really hungry from the photo shoot.' He thought to himself. "A forest off to the east of Magnolia. Maybe three a day walk." He explained. "Tonight might be one of the last nights we spend indoors; we should pick up our stuff back in Magnolia before we head out."

Mirajane nodded and scooted closer to him, leaning her head on his shoulder while resting her hand on his knee. She closed her eyes and simply enjoyed his warmth, feeling her heart jump into her throat when his hand covered hers and gave her a gentle squeeze. Feeling him move she tilted her head back and started to open her eyes just as his lips pressed to hers ever so gently. She could only smile against the kiss when he deepened it after finding no resistance despite being in a public setting.

A cough from beside the table made her pull away, if begrudgingly. She tried to hide the blush that crept across her cheeks by dropping her gaze to the table in front of her, staring intently at the grain of the wood. The waiter gave them a small smile before sliding a couple of plates in front of them. "Thank you." Mirajane said cheerfully after she had regained her composure.

Natsu cheered and thrust his fist into the air before digging into his meal, grabbing with his hands rather than using the utensils provided. He peeked out of the corner of his eye during the meal and watched as Mirajane ate slowly, spooning the stew from her bowl to her lips in an extreme contrast to how he ate. She gave him a small smile when she caught his eyes on her. "Want some?" She offered, holding out a spoonful towards him. Natsu grinned widely and took the food from the spoon. "Mmmm, it's pretty good." He admitted.

The rest of their meal went by relatively quickly with Natsu inhaling his food, creating a small mess around him. With a content sigh he pushed back from the table and lounged against the stiff booth. "Anything else I can get for you two?" The waiter asked while stacking their plates to take them away.

Mirajane slid her hand up Natsu's leg while shaking her head at the waiter. "I think we have everything we need here." She said cheerfully, squeezing the inside of Natsu's leg secretively, her hand moving further towards the destination that Natsu so badly wanted her to touch.

Said Dragon Slayer pulled money from an inside pocket of his jacket and placed it on the table, not caring enough to get his change before pulling his wife from the booth, firmly taking her hand while they made their way out of the building. Mirajane pulled his arm between her breasts while they walked and smiled seductively up at him. "Got something on your mind?" She asked teasingly, earning her a growl from the husband. Mirajane's smile turned dangerous and she pushed him against one of the buildings they were passing. She ignored the looks they were getting and pressed herself up against him, intertwining her fingers into the hair at his neck. "Stay out with me for a little while longer and I'll make sure you don't regret it." She said seductively.

Natsu leaned down and licked the length of her neck, nipping at the sensitive skin. "You already said that back at the studio, why should I let you off so easily?" He whispered against her skin, letting his hands wander down her sides, teasing her skin with gentle touches.

Mirajane pressed her mouth to his shoulder, biting down on the cloth to keep herself from moaning aloud from his ministrations. "Because I know you will _really_ enjoy what I want to get." She said quietly, not trusting her voice much further than that. She knew that he affected her this way, but it only seemed to be getting worse the more time she spent around him. Steeling herself she pulled back from his shoulder and bit her lip up at him, pleading silently.

Natsu looked down into her eyes and furrowed his brow, and let out a small sigh. "You're lucky you are so beautiful. Just make it fast or I may not be able to stop myself." He said finally, nodding his head in submission to her request.

Mirajane smiled brightly and stepped back from him and pulled him with her while they headed down the street towards the store that she had in mind. She heard a groan come from behind her when he realized they were headed into a clothing store, but she ignored it and quickly went back towards the rear of the store. She took her hand back when she started going through the racks of clothing. Once she had a few items she gestured over to the chair by the changing rooms for him to wait for her and quickly went into one of the curtained off rooms.

Natsu dropped himself into the chair and folded his arms across his chest while he waited; firmly believing that he had been duped into something he didn't want to do. "Miiiiiiraaaa." He whined. "What's taking so long, I'm bored." He heard rustling behind the curtain and sighed in defeat, bringing flames to his hands and tumbling them over his knuckles to entertain himself while he waited.

After what seemed like an eternity the curtain pulled to the side and Mirajane stood in a tight form fitting black dress with a low neckline that looked almost too small to contain her large chest, making Natsu's eyes wander down her body, drinking in her curves. "Well?" She asked, giving him a small spin and posing. Natsu hummed in response, unable to form words. She giggled to him and gave him a small wink before entering the changing room again, closing the curtain behind her.

Natsu couldn't help but stare at the curtain after her, his jaw slack as he tried to form a thought about the dress she had been wearing. If she was meaning to tease him, then she was doing a good job so far. "Natsu? Can you come in here for a moment? I need you to unzip the back of my dress." She called from inside the curtain, sticking her hand out to gesture for him to join her.

Taking a deep breath he shook his head and joined her inside the curtain, making sure it was shut behind him before turning to his wife. She stood smiling at him and grabbed his vest and changed places with him, pushing him against the back wall before throwing herself against him, crushing her lips to his. He moaned into the kiss and wrapped his arms around the small of her back.

"You have to be quiet, don't want to get us caught now do you?" She whispered to him, her hands traveling over his chest and unbuttoning his shirt. Mirajane smiled seductively up at him and slowly kissed down his neck and down his chest while dropping to her knees in front of him.

"What are you doing, we could get caught in here like this." Natsu said in a rushed whisper. Mirajane giggled and occupied herself by licking over his nipple, breathing on the skin to stiffen the nub of skin. Natsu sucked in a sharp breath through clenched teeth, closing his eyes.

"That's the point, love." She whispered up at him. "The thrill of getting caught… almost like what you did to me back at the guild when we first got together, except we can't make hardly any sounds before we get caught." Mirajane let his nipple go and moved to his other one, giving it the same treatment as his other while he hands smoothly unbuttoned his pants to let them fall around his ankles.

"So this is payback?" He asked raising an eyebrow at her. Mirajane only smiled at him, biting her lower lip when she dropped her eyes to the growing erection hiding behind his boxers. Devoting herself to the task, Mirajane ran her fingers along his length through the thin material, enjoying the small hiss of pleasure that escaped him as she slowly stroked him.

Deciding he had been teased enough, Mirajane pulled his boxers off and let them fall. Natsu stepped out of them as she moved her dress down to reveal her breasts to him, earning a low growl. Once again she wrapped her fingers around his length, sliding them up and down. A seductive smile spread across her lips as soon as her eyes met his, seeing his hunger for her. Desire pooled within her that sent a wave of pleasure through her, spurring her further. Holding his gaze, she pushed forward and took the tip of him inside her mouth, running her tongue around it. She released a throaty groan at his taste, her eyes rolling back in her head and taking more of him, moving agonizingly slow. She kept the slow pace up, bobbing her head back and forth while her right hand stroked the remaining length that she couldn't quite fit.

"Mira…" He groaned out in a whisper, his muscles tightening as he tried to prevent his climax from rising any further. "Mira stop." He called out again, getting no response. "Mira for all that is good, you need to stop!" He whisper shouted at her, grabbing her wrists to finally get her attention.

Mirajane sighed and looked up at him while releasing him from her mouth. "Why should I? You know I'm doing this for you." She said furrowing her brows.

Natsu smiled down at her while he bent down, pulling her up to her feet and pushing her back to the wall. "That's exactly why I want to do this." He said dropping to his own knees in front of her.

"We don't have time for this Natsu; let's just finish this back at the inn." She offered weakly. Her body betrayed her, letting him move her to his will despite her protests. He didn't offer an answer, simply ripping her panties without giving her a chance to take them off. He held her eyes just for a moment before leaning in and pressing his lips to the inside of her let and lifting her leg to spread her legs for him, letting her rest it on his shoulder as he trailed kisses closer to her sex.

Mirajane's back arched and she pushed herself closer towards the Dragon Slayer, digging her fingers into his hair. Natsu smiled against her, his tongue traveling along her folds. Mirajane's mouth opened in a slow moan, her eyes widening before she covered her mouth, fearful that she would make too much noise and give them away. Natsu used moment that to slide his tongue inside of her, digging as deep as he could to bring her closer to her climax.

Mirajane bit into her hand in an attempt to keep her voice down, grinding her hips against his lips. Closing her eyes she tried to focus on keeping silent, but still unable to control her heavy breathing. "Natsu, please…" She whispered out, pulling his hair from below her.

Natsu followed her silent request and pulled back from her and standing up, hooking her knee with his elbow as he lifted himself to his feet. Their lips met in a rushed kiss, forcing their bodies together as they let their desire take over, Mirajane's hand reaching down between them to lead his length to her sex. She couldn't prevent the moan that escaped her when he thrust deep inside of her, thankful for his lips to muffle her sounds of pleasure.

"You're so tight Mira. Don't tell me that it excites you that we could get caught." Natsu teased breaking the kiss.

"No I'm not." Mirajane whined. "You are imagining things."

Natsu grinned, kissing along her chin to draw her earlobe in between his teeth. "Want me to stop then?" He asked, slowly drawing back from her.

Mirajane whimpered, digging her nails into his back to pull him back into her. "I need you Natsu. I want it harder; I need it deeper inside me." She whispered in his ear.

Natsu lifted her leg higher and thrust roughly inside of her, burying himself fully within her. Mirajane had to bite down on his shoulder again to keep from crying out in pleasure. She rolled her hips in time with his quick thrusts, moaning into him with every meaty slap of skin on skin contact. "Just like that… I'm so close Natsu…."

Natsu kissed her neck, nipping slightly. "I love you Mira, let's come together." Mirajane released his shoulder and crushed their lips together as her body tightened, electricity coursing through her veins. She moaned against his lips, her whole body locking up around his as her climax ripped through her.

Natsu responded immediately, pumping his hips into hers a couple more times until he couldn't hold it back any longer and released his seed within her. The two stayed locked together while their mutual climaxes brought them closer together

Natsu smiled and gently sat his wife on the ground, both of them leaning against one another while trying to regain their breath. He let out a small breath of air and watched as it froze, telling him how much colder it was compared to how hot he usually ran. Grabbing Mirajane's chin between his thumb and forefinger he brought her head around to kiss her, their lips molding together in a gentle, yet fierce, kiss. In that silent kiss Natsu failed to hear someone walk up to the curtain that blocked the couple from sight.

"Ma'am is everything alright? You have been in there for a long time." Mirajane's eyes widened and pulled back from the kiss, quickly placing her hand over Natsu's mouth to silence him. It didn't stop him from grinning wildly.

"Sorry." Mirajane said in a quiet voice, trying to control her voice. "I didn't realize I had been in here so long. Give me a moment and I-I will finish up and meet you at the register." Her voice finally betrayed her, her words coming out in barely more than a squeak.

"Do you need any help?"

"No! I mean… no I can manage." She corrected, sweat dotting her forehead.

"She means we can manage." Natsu called through the curtain. By the time Mirajane spun around to hit him, he was already dressed and pushing her aside to poke his head out. "It's my fault, I was supposed to help her, but we got a little distracted." He said scratching the back of his head sheepishly.

The woman blushed; clearly surprised that Natsu was there. "Well if you say so, just don't be long." She said cautiously.

Natsu grinned from ear to ear and gave the woman a wink. "I'll make sure to take care of her."

"Natsu!" Mirajane screamed, throwing her hands into the air. "Quit being a pervert!" She grabbed his shoulder and pulled him into the changing room roughly. "I'm so sorry; I'll be out in just a moment." She said apologetically to the woman just outside.

Leaving the woman, Mirajane moved as fast as she could to get her clothes back on. Natsu stepped up beside her and handed her the missing skirt and tube top. She snatched them from his hands, casting him a cool glare that he smiled at, knowing she couldn't stay mad for long. Picking up the dress from the ground, Natsu folded it over his arm and smoothed it out in an attempt to get rid of some of the wrinkles.

As soon as she was dressed, Mirajane pushed her way out of the room in a huff, returning to the undergarments section of the store. "You're paying for these." She grumbled over her shoulder. It wasn't that she was angry at him; after all it had been her idea to start it in the first place. No, she was embarrassed, not having intended for it to let things escalate that far. Originally she had only planned to please him, but that deep look of lust in his eyes had turned her brain to mush, wanting nothing more than to give him what he wanted. It was one of the things that she loved and hated most about him, that he was able to look at her the right way and mold her to his will without even trying.

Natsu furrowed his brows and pulled the panties from her, "What do you mean 'I'm paying for them'?" He asked, holding up the thin material high to get a good look at them. "Are you even sure these are big enough to cover you at all?"

Mirajane blushed and snatched them back from his outstretched hands. "I didn't hear you complaining about their size earlier when you tore them off. And of course you are paying for them! You ruined my last pair!" The white-haired beauty had to take a calming breath to ensure she wouldn't yell anymore and cause more of a scene than they had already.

"Whatever you say Mira." He commented with a smirk. "So long as you understand that I'm still taking what I want back in the room." He bent close and licked the side of her neck, causing her to squeak in surprise and almost dropped all of the clothes she had picked out. Natsu hummed to himself. "I love it when you make that sound."

Mirajane pushed him away and gave him a small glare, but it soon evolved into an excited smile. She couldn't stay mad at him for something like this. "As much as you like to tease me, save it for when we are alone. I already have enough people staring at me, I don't need others staring just because you couldn't keep your comments to yourself." She said with a sigh.

"Don't worry about them." Natsu said raising a fist and clenching it until his knuckles turned white. "Anyone so much as touches you and I'll make sure they never have the chance to do it again."

Mirajane sighed and shook her head. "I can do that on my own you know. I'm not some porcelain doll to be put up on some shelf and protected. I'm the S-class mage here, not you."

"S-class mage or not… you belong to me." He said happily, smiling and nodding his head.

Mirajane's eyes narrowed and she folded her arms over her chest. "I do not **belong** to anyone-"

"Except me." Natsu said interrupting her. "Maybe not in the traditional 'you will do what I say, when I say it, and how I want it done' way, but you are still mine. You will understand better when I take you back home, where I used to live with Igneel.

"No, I think you should explain it now. I'm your wife, but I am **not** your property." Mirajane said sternly, knowing how far Natsu's passions ran, and in response knew she had to be straightforward with him if she expected any answers from him.

"Mira." Natsu said in a quiet, but steady voice. "I just need you to trust me about this. I'm not saying I need you to do anything different, or even tell anyone I said it. It has something to do with my magic, that much I can tell you. You won't understand anything else, but I promise you I will explain everything after we get there."

Mirajane sighed and shook her head. "You shouldn't keep secrets from me Natsu. As much as I don't like it, if it is this important to you, I will just have to trust you. Just don't make it a habit of keeping things from me. I may not always understand what you mean, but that is why we are a team, we work together to figure everything out."

Natsu's smile returned brighter than before. "Tell you what. Fight me and show me that you can still fight as well as you once could and I will tell you everything. Like I said, you won't understand it all, but I'll still tell you." He said taking up her hand and pulling her to the counter to pay for the items, thanking the attendant with a genuine smile.

Mirajane tried to make sense of her husband. "I don't want to hurt you Natsu. I may have been out of battle for a few years, but I am still one of the strongest mages in the guild."

"You have fought a handful of times since Lisanna disappeared. You fought when Laxus went crazy and back when we were hit on Tenroujima, then again at the games, but barely more than that. Lisanna is back now, you don't have to stay back at the guild and work the counter all day. I love you and want to fight with you. So maybe a friendly spar is just what you need to get back into fighting with us again, I'm sure everyone would be happy to see you going to your full potential once more." Natsu said, eager to see if she would take up his offer.

Mirajane walked next to Natsu, calmly holding his hand while she thought about the offer. On one hand she could get the information she wanted out of him, but in the process could possibly hurt him. On the other hand she knew she should trust him and this was something he was passionate about. She let her mind wander as she worked between the pros and cons of accepting the offer, so much so that she wasn't paying any attention to where they were walking until Natsu stopped them at the fountain they had been at just a few hours ago. "What are we doing here? I thought we were going back to the inn." She asked letting go of his hand to dip her fingers into the icy water.

Natsu set their bag down and smiled over at Mirajane, wanting nothing more than to simply tell her what his heart saw in her, tell her what it really meant for him to love her the way he did. "I just thought we could walk around together for a little while before we were to head back. As much as I enjoy spending alone time with you, trying to start our family… I want to show you off a little." He said sheepishly.

Mirajane smiled at him and blushed. It was hard for her to react to this side of her Dragon Slayer. "Why haven't we ever seen this side of you before? Where has this sweet and romantic Natsu been?" She asked happily, her eyes glowing in appreciation of his comment. "Why are you always breaking everything and teasing Lucy about her boyfriends if you have this side to you?"

Natsu sat down on the edge of the fountain and stuck his hand into the water, letting the icy feeling pierce into his bones. "I've tried before. When we were kids with Lisanna, but I never understood what it was back then, and when she came back I didn't have those same feelings for her. As for Lucy? She has always made it perfectly clear on several occasions that we are partners and guild mates only. It eventually just felt natural to tune it out and feign ignorance."

"What changed?" She asked, hesitant to hear what she had to say, hoping he had decided to change because he couldn't hold back any longer and not that he had simply let it happen.

Natsu shrugged and dropped his eyes, staring at their reflections through the ripples of the water. "Yopu kind of caught me at a low point." He admitted sadly. "Lucy didn't want me around because I might interfere with her date, ice princess was too busy hiding from Juvia to even show up at the guild, and Erza… well Erza was off being herself, refusing to let me join her on her S-class missions. Even Happy ws too busy to hang out, so I thought I would just wait it out until they got some free time for all of us to go on a mission together."

Mirajane frowned at him. "Why didn't you say anything to anyone? I'm sure others would have gone on a mission with you. What about Wendy or Romeo or any of the others? We are all a family, all you would have to do is tell someone you wanted to go on a mission with them. Even Lisanna would have gone, probably wouldn't have asked what you needed before she agreed to it."

Natsu shrugged again. "I don't know why I didn't say anything, but it doesn't matter that I didn't invite others. After that first night we stayed together I thought 'why not'? Everyone else was growing up and moving on and there you were, always being there for me when I needed you. Sure you were mean when we were kids, beating me up whenever Erza wasn't, hitting me for talking to any other girls, especially whenever I was around your sister… But whenever I really needed you, you were there to take my mind off of it. Sure it usually ended up with you hitting me, but it ended up the same."

Mirajane didn't try prying any more out of him, even though she still didn't quite understand anything except that she had filled the void of loneliness enough to make him feel as if he needed her to survive. "You don't regret any of what we have done do you?"

Natsu smiled to himself, hearing the pain in her voice as if she expected him to tell her it was all a mistake. "Maybe just that it took so long for me to realize what I could have had years ago if I hadn't been so blind. I never knew how strongly you felt for me, I just thought you were always trying to be a good friend. I still don't understand why, but I know I can make it up to you, make up for my ignorance all this time."

Mirajane lunged across the small distance between them and wrapped her arms around his neck, the two teetering on the edge, about to fall into the fountain. "You really are an idiot."

"Hey!"

"You already gave me more than I ever thought I would get from you. You included me in your future, which is enough for me." She whispered with tears in her eyes.

Natsu smiled and buried his face into her hair, breathing in deeply, sensing something had changed about her. Her scent was stronger than ever. "That's nothing compared to what I have planned for us." He said quietly. "Like I said before, you are more than just a wife to me, more than words have a meaning for. You are my everything now."

Getting a spurt of energy through her, Mirajane pushed herself back a little. "I accept."

"You accept what?" He asked curiously, cocking his head to the side to determine what she meant.

Mirajane let a devilish smile cross her lips before leaning in and kissing him, drawing his breath into her, much to his confusion. When they pulled back to draw a breath, she didn't let him. Instead, she tackled him into the fountain and straddled him, dunking his head underwater and holding him there despite his flailing arms and legs.

It wouldn't be enough to really harm him, but it was enough to disorient him for a few seconds, enough for her to devise a plan. "**Take Over: Satan Soul!**" She cried out, scaring multiple onlookers around them.

Natsu seemed to finally understand everything in that action, flames jumping out along his limbs before fizzling out in the water.

Mirajane refused to budge; using her enhances strength in this form to hold him under. The water around them spiked in temperature and started to bubble away from the Dragon Slayer. It didn't take long until Mirajane had to jump back to keep from being burnt. Natsu jumped out of the water a millisecond after her, coughing water from his lungs while dropping into a fighting stance.

The two watched one another for a few moments, waiting for the other to initiate the attack. Emitting a challenging cry, Natsu launched himself forward, flames bursting out from his fists. They both knew better than to attack at full power seeing as they were in the middle of town and resorted to exchanging blows one after the other. They fell into a rhythm; attacking, blocking, and countering every strike that was aimed at them. Natsu couldn't help but smile, knowing full well that she was faster and stronger than he was, but she had been out of it for too long and her occasional battles had not given her enough practice. She relied on her natural abilities while Natsu could rely on his experience and knowledge of battle.

Slowly, Natsu gained the upper hand, his endurance winning out in the end. A sly smile spread across his lips and he feigned tripping back after deflecting one of her clawed fists, falling backwards with his arms wind milling as if to regain his balance. Mirajane jumped at the chance, swinging her fist with all of her remaining strength at the falling Dragon Slayer.

Natsu shot his left hand out to the side and ignited his fist in a fiery explosion to propel himself out of the attack, weaving around her flying fist. Catching her around the waist, he slipped around behind her and pinned her arms to her sides before letting his flames die out, head pressed tight into the corner of her neck where it met her shoulder, breathing in heavily. Something didn't smell quite the same and his eyes widened in sudden realization, his arms slackening in surprise, giving her enough time to spin out of his grasp. "Mira wait!" He called out, raising his hands in front of him.

She wasn't listening, her body moving out of instinct as she stepped around his hands, her fist rising towards his chin. Natsu knew he could have gotten out of the way in time but instead let his hands drop, his smile ever present. As much as he wanted to win, he had something better on his mind.

Natsu's head snapped back from the force of the blow, taking him from his feet and launching him back several feet until he landed on his back roughly. Mirajane ran over to him, ready to end the fight in an instant, bringing her arm down until she saw tears in his eyes, freezing her arm mid swing. A bright light surrounded them as she resumed her usual appearance, falling to her knees beside him. "What's wrong Natsu?" She asked worriedly.

Natsu choked out a laugh and grabbed the back of her neck, pulling her down to him so he could wrap his arms around her, bringing his lips next to her ear, whispering to her quietly. The white haired woman pushed away from him quickly and stared down at him, tears forming in her eyes. "Are you… are you sure?" Natsu smiled and raised his hand back up to her cheek and cupped it gently, his eyes never leaving hers. It was all she needed before she fell against his chest with a wail.

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><p><strong>As always, R &amp; R please!<strong>

**Sorry didn't mean to leave it ending like that, but I had to stop it somewhere or this chapter would have been far too long. Tune in next time for further explinations!**


	10. Natsu' True Home

**I do not own Fairy Tail, Hiro Mashima does!**

**Really embarrassed about this, I thought I had uploaded this a few days ago! Turns out I put it in the document manager but didn't post it, sorry! If you all want this to continue just say so, I've been debating whether or not to continue this FanFic or not.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 10: <strong>

Darkness had settled upon Magnolia by the time Mirajane and Natsu had returned on the train. After Natsu's confession to her, she hadn't wanted to spend another night without heading out towards the last place he had been with Igneel. It hadn't taken much to convince him to abandon their stay at the inn in favor of staying in their own bed for the last night they were going to be able to stay indoors for a few weeks. The only thing he wanted in return was to return to the guild before they left to tell everyone where they were going before they disappeared for a couple of weeks.

Now that they stood in front of the guild's main doors, Mirajane wondered if they should even tell everyone yet. "Are you sure you're sure?" She asked for the fifth time since they had left the train station.

Natsu chuckled next to her, prodding her side with a finger. "Mira, I told you before and I will tell you again as many times as you need to hear it. Yes, I know the feeling of my own power. I know what it feels like, and you have that within you. You have my magic within you, and it isn't going away. There is only one way that is possible." He said teasing her before pulling her up against his side.

Mirajane's mouth opened to question him, fear and excitement flooding through her. "But it-"

Natsu cut her off by dragging her forward, kicking the door open before she could muster up a protest. "We're back!" He called out excitedly. The guild spun away from what they were doing and cheered the arrival of the newlyweds. Natsu continued to pull her with him up to a table.

"You both left so fast that we didn't have time to throw a party!" Lucy accused, sending Natsu a deadly glare. "I'm sure this is your fault." Natsu laughed awkwardly and scratched the back of his head, but didn't deny her accusations.

Mirajane felt hands pull her arm, drawing her away from Natsu's side. "You'll have to excuse us for a few; we need to borrow your wife." Lucy said with a sly smile over at Natsu. "It feels really weird to say that. I never thought Natsu would be the first one of all of us to settle down." She said to the other girls as they drew the woman away.

"Thank you all for doing this, but you didn't have to throw a party. We really only came back to let everyone know that we would be gone for a couple of weeks." The girls around Mirajane didn't seem to hear her, drinks being passed around between them as they all settled around a table together.

"We have to throw a party; we weren't all around for when Bisca and Azlack got together so we need to make the most of the rest of them. But that isn't the point!" Lucy cried out, dropping a glass of wine in front of Mirajane. "So tell us, did you like your dress?"

Mirajane smiled brightly, letting her hesitation leave her to be replaced by the excitement of the party. "I don't even know how to thank you all for what you did. I love my dress! Who made it anyways?"

"Well you actually have Levy to thank for most of it. Levy and I raided your closet a few times to get your sizes before going to a seamstress to make the dresses. Levy found a spell that would let Natsu reveal your actual dress." Lucy said happily, her eyes sparkling. "It was so hard to stay quiet and keep it from you."

Mirajane looked back over her shoulder when a loud cry of anger filled the air and saw that a large group of the men had thrown themselves into battle, showing their feelings through fighting. Shaking her head with a sigh, Mirajane turned back to the girls and moved the drink between her hands. "It still doesn't feel real. I can look at my hand and see the ring and remember the words, but…"

"Juvia wishes Gray-sama would look at her the way Natsu looks at you Mira." Juvia said sadly, looking over Mirajane's shoulder at the ice mage.

"You do realize Mira that Natsu hasn't taken his eyes off you since you came in, don't you?" Levy asked sensing Mirajane's hesitation. "Maybe it brought our eyes open with the whole situation a couple of weeks ago between you, Natsu, and Lisanna… But I can see exactly what he feels for you."

Mirajane nodded to herself. "You're right, I know how he feels for me and all, but I thought things would change when we got married. Maybe it's just because we have only been married for a day so far, but I thought everything would just fall together, that whenever I had a thought, he would know what to do to fix it. Maybe I'm not saying it right, because he does all that…"

Levy nodded. "I think I understand what you are saying. Every girl looks at marriage as coming together with the person you love, becoming one person with them. But you feel as if you already had that with him before you got married."

Mirajane looked down into the drink at her reflection and smiled. "That's almost exactly what it feels like. Maybe I see where Natsu was coming from when he said he didn't care about being husband and wife or boyfriend and girlfriend."

"He said WHAT! Wait, maybe I'm not understanding this correctly. What exactly did he say?" Lucy asked leaning towards Mirajane.

Mirajane laughed awkwardly, "Well, to be honest, he said that husbands and wives are meaningless titles, that he didn't want to marry me."

"How did you convince him otherwise?"

"I didn't." Mirajane said smiling. "When I went missing for that week… After Natsu found me, he told me he was marrying me."

"Well that doesn't sound very romantic… I knew he was dense, but that doesn't mean he can just do whatever he wants. There are rules to how this happens!" Levy cried out.

"Well he more than made up for it. I could not have asked for more from our wedding. Thanks again everyone." Mirajane said.

"I'll drink to that!" Cana called out raising her barrel high into the air. A collective cheer went up around the table as everyone drank, everyone except Mirajane. "Mira, why aren't you drinking?" She questioned, leaning over to look the woman in the eye.

"She can't." Natsu said, startling the women. "I'll take that." He commented snatching up her mug of wine for himself, drinking it down. The women looked at the couple expectantly, but Mirajane just looked down at the table and Natsu simply smiled at them. Suddenly Natsu's smile faltered and he looked down at his wife. "You didn't tell them?"

"I never got the chance, we were talking about the wedding and how you failed to propose in a romantic way." Mirajane said swatting his hand from her shoulder. "I doubt you told the guys."

"Of course I told them." He said furrowing his brows. "Why do you think Elfman's pretending not to cry in the corner?" Looking over his shoulder, he smiled at the large man mumbling curses. Natsu cried out in surprise as Erza grabbed his scarf from across the table and pulled him down, slamming his head to the wood. "Don't hurt me!" He cried out, flailing the mug of wine around in an attempt to get away.

"You know that you shouldn't keep secrets Natsu. Now why would Mirajane not be able to have a drink of wine with her friends?" Erza questioned coolly. Her fist tightened on his scarf and pulled him closer, her eyes narrowing. Natsu shivered and shrunk against the table at her gaze.

"Are you pregnant!?" Lucy cried out, finally catching onto what the two were hinting at. Mirajane's smile returned brighter than ever, her whole face glowing as she nodded. "How far along and when did you find out?"

Erza hit Natsu as hard as she could, breaking the table out from under him, sending all of the drinks placed on top of it flying. "What were you thinking getting her pregnant? She still has the rest of her life ahead of her!" Erza shook the Dragon Slayer by his collar, slamming him into the ground repeatedly.

"Erza that's enough, Natsu didn't force this on me. We wanted this." Mirajane confessed, snatching Erza's wrist before she could hit the Dragon Slayer again. "Besides, we are married; naturally it was bound to happen sooner or later."

Erza dropped the Dragon Slayer, who groaned in relief when he landed on the ground with a resounding thud. "How are we going to manage this guild when we have little fire breathing demons running around."

Mirajane sighed and knelt down next to Natsu, pushing his hair from his eyes with a smile. "To answer your question Lucy, we suspect it happened over the past couple of days and we found out this afternoon before we came here."

"Mira…" Levy said cautiously. "You know it is next to impossible to know you are pregnant this early. You should at least wait a couple of weeks to make sure it's true."

Natsu coughed a laugh. "Levy, I know what I'm talking about here. Mira's pregnant with my child and that child has my magic." Levy sighed and shook her head. "How do you know what you're talking about Natsu, enlighten us." The Dragon Slayer pushed his way to his knees, taking Mirajane's face between his hands and looking into her eyes. "I can feel my magic in her. It's almost the same feeling when I was with Igneel; after all he gave me my magic that I have now. She has that power within her. I can't give my power to another except through my own child."

Mirajane blushed at how close they were to one another with everyone around them. "So long as he says it's true, I'll believe him." She whispered. Natsu sighed and took her hand to pick them up off the ground, letting her return to her seat. "We are going to leave tomorrow morning though."

Natsu smiled and sat down on the ground by the bottom of Mirajane's chair as more of the men started to come around from the fight to join the girls. "We'll just have to make the most of it until then." Another cheer went up, cups and mugs clinking together.

* * *

><p>Light peaked through the treetops to flash briefly over the couple lying on the ground, the branches blowing in the wind to flash the light back and forth over their eyes. The early rising sun brought along the breeze off the lake, icy wind biting across the woman's face. Stifling a groan, Mirajane pulled the bedroll cover up over her eyes and leaned back against her husband's warmth, his arm tightening around her protectively in his sleep. The unconscious gesture brought warmth to her heart. Still, despite the blanket and the unnatural heat of her Dragon Slayer of a husband couldn't stop the wind from finding the small openings in the blanket, rippling over skin.<p>

Mirajane rolled over and tried to bury her face into Natsu's chest to prevent the wind from eating away at her sleepiness too much. Finally, after much frustration, Mirajane opened her eyes with an irritated sigh. It had only been a week and she was already tired of sleeping outdoors. She didn't know how he did it, always being gone on jobs that required him to spend most of his time traveling from town to town, living out of a pack. Pushing herself on an elbow, she carefully withdrew from Natsu's arms and looked down at him.

Natsu's calm features made her smile, his lips slightly parted as he mumbled something in his sleep. A shudder ran down her spine the longer she held herself out of the blanket on her elbow, but she couldn't bring herself to look away from him, wondering just what was on his mind to make him appear so calm out here. With a sigh, she remembered that he didn't feel the difference in temperature like she did. She wondered if he ever felt any extreme heat or cold. Kissing his forehead gently, Mirajane pushed away from him again, determined to get up this time. The woman rubbed her arms and grabbed another sweatshirt before pulling her jacket on to stave off the cold morning air before setting her mind at making breakfast for them, knowing Natsu would be starving whenever he woke up.

Warming her hands by the fire that Natsu had started just before they went to bed, Mirajane drug her pack over and pulled out a skillet and a couple of eggs and sausages before setting the pan directly on the coals of the fire, settling some more firewood against the coals to ensure it would keep going. As if the smell of the food brought him out of his sleep, Natsu raised his head, his nose leading him out of their makeshift bed. "Morning." He grumbled squeezing his eyes shut before raising his arms high above his head in a stretch. With a groan, Natsu pushed himself to his feet and rolled up the bedding to put it back on top of his pack.

Mirajane smiled over at him for a moment before focusing back on breakfast. "You looked like you were sleeping good, dream of anything special?" Finishing up the food, Mirajane tentatively tested the heat of the handle on the skillet before taking it off the flames, scooping more than half of the food into a bowl before offering the skillet towards Natsu. Natsu frowned as he peaked at the amount in her bowl, but couldn't hold it long. He broke into a grin and took the skillet from her, kissing her gently on the forehead with a whisper of thanks.

"Actually, it was a good dream if you really want to know. I dreamt about our daughter and how many people she will grow up to defeat." Natsu commented plopping to the ground next to her, stuffing his mouth with a large metal spoon. He let out a low moan of appreciation, casting Mirajane a bright smile. "Have you thought about… what kind of child we will have?" He asked between bites.

Mirajane finished off her food faster than Natsu had as her appetite much larger than it had been before. She couldn't help but think it had something to do with the already famous Dragon Slayer child within her. She wasn't far enough along to need this much food, but seeing how much Natsu ate on a regular basis, she couldn't help but wonder if it was his magic that had caused her sudden change in appetite. "Of course I think about it. What kind of mother would I be if I didn't think of our child?" Mirajane looked down at her empty bowl and felt her stomach churn at the thought. "It's still hard to believe we are going to be parents. I'm excited." She confessed pressing a hand over her stomach.

Natsu reached over and placed his warm hand over hers, looking into her eyes for a moment, smiling brightly. "You are going to make a fine mother, I hope you know that. Now come on, we only have a few hours to walk to get there. We should get started as soon as possible." Natsu's smile faltered for a moment so brief that Mirajane wondered if she had imagined the whole thing. She shook her head at the idea; there was no reason for him to feel any sort of regret or sense of nervousness that she knew of. Taking his hand in hers, Mirajane brought it up to her cheek for a moment and sighed at the warm feeling over her cool skin. The two locked eyes for a few more moments before standing and dawning their packs.

The two made slow progress through the morning with stiff muscles from lying on the ground for the past week. Mirajane was happy to have Natsu hold her hand, his warmth traveling through her thin gloves to ensure her body wouldn't catch cold. The closer they got to their destination, Mirajane couldn't help but notice that Natsu had become more excited, but she could detect the slight worry in his eyes until finally she couldn't hold it back any longer. "Is everything okay Natsu? You really seem out of it this morning." She asked concerned, still keeping up their steady pace.

Natsu reached back with his free hand and scratched the back of his head, knowing he had been caught. "It's nothing really, don't worry about it. I am just a little anxious to be back there after so long. I used to visit this place once a year until we got stuck on Tenroujima for those seven years… I don't know what to expect when we get there, I just hope it hasn't been destroyed. Igneel had a few enemies in the forest, but they wouldn't come around whenever they knew I would show up, so maybe they haven't been around. I'm still worried though." He added that last part under his breath, hoping she didn't hear it.

Mirajane smiled sadly and squeezed his hand in response, opting to take the silent route. How long had it been since she had been to her own parent's grave? More than ten years, she couldn't bring herself to relive that pain, but she didn't forget about them. "Are you worried we might leave our child the same way our parents left us?" She asked after a couple of hours of comfortable silence.

Natsu stopped and tugged on her hand, bringing her to a stop as well. Taking her other hand in his he shook his head with a small smile. "I don't see that ever happening, because we know how much it hurts to lose someone that close to you. If one of us does… pass on… the other will have to stay with our daughter, or son, to make sure they knew how much the other one loved them." His smile brightened and he looked over her shoulder, seeing a small clearing up ahead. "Now, no more talk about passing on, neither of us is going to die anytime soon if I have anything to say about it."

Mirajane nodded and returned his smile with one of her own and allowed herself to be pulled forward. As soon as they broke through the tree line, Mirajane stood still and simply took everything in. The clearing appeared to be several hundred feet across to a mountain wall where a large cavern entrance appeared. In the distance she could see the mist coming off of a waterfall, the sound of rushing water filling her ears. She smiled and let go of his hand to walk through the tall, unkempt grass towards the cavern only to stop just out front of it. There were piles of animal bones there, but they appeared to be several weeks, if not months, old.

A lone, quiet, howl split through the wind from deep inside the cavern, halting Mirajane from proceeding deeper inside. She wasn't afraid of a lone wolf, but it was rare that there would be just one wolf, it always got difficult whenever they ran around in packs. A small squeak of surprise leapt from her throat. She looked down to see Natsu's hand gently resting on her hip and eased her tense muscles. "As long as we stay near this entrance they shouldn't bother us, they will use the exit near the waterfall if they have to leave." Natsu said in an effort to calm Mirajane further.

Mirajane nodded to herself, running a hand through her long white hair. "So, do you plan on telling me why you insisted I come here or do I have to force it out of you?" She asked watching him out of the corner of her eye.

Natsu sighed to himself and withdrew his hand from her side, turning completely towards her. "I wasn't being completely honest with you before. I know exactly what being husband and wife mean to me, and it isn't that they don't mean anything; they actually mean a lot to me because it makes you happy that we are married. But for me, it isn't enough. Lovers or spouses, they aren't enough for me because there is a deeper meaning to what I feel for you. I don't just love you Mirajane, I need you. You are my mate. You can never be anything less than that, no matter what your feelings towards me turn to. Whether you stay with me until we grow old and die or you laugh me off and leave me, you will be the only one for me. That is why I really left after that first night. Looking down at you like that… I couldn't help but see what I was doing to you, what I was going to put you through."

Mirajane tilted her head to the side, not quite understanding what it was he was saying. "What do you mean I'm your mate Natsu? The only mate's I know is between animals where they can't choose another lover because the pack dictates that they are to be together for procreation. Don't tell me you are only with to procreate… I don't want to be just a baby maker for you." Her eyes tearing up and she shook her head. "I can't just be that for you, I never thought…" Her words trailed off, not believing what she was hearing.

Natsu reached out and laid a hand over her arm gently, smiling and shaking his head. "Mira, that isn't what I'm saying, you are more to me than someone to have a child with. I love you Mirajane, you and only you. In a way you are right, you are my one and only lover. You are the one person that I can look for in a mate. I chose you before we decided to make love for the first time. I brought you here because this is where we finish the… well it's a ritual of sorts. That's the best way to say it anyways." He confessed while scratching the back of his head with his free hand.

"You mean to say that you can love no other, no matter what I choose?" Mirajane questioned. She stood there while looking down into the cave before turning to Natsu, meeting his eyes and holding them with her own serious gaze. Seeing the determination in his eyes she grabbed him and pushed him to the ground, moving to stand over him before lying down on top of him, pressing their chests together. "What do I need to do to complete the ritual?" She asked slyly, pressing her lips to his neck.

Natsu smiled and wrapped his arms around her back. "It's quite simply really. All we have to do is… Okay it isn't as easy as I thought it might be. Even though you already have my child in you, you have to accept my power into you, which in turn will complete the ritual."

"I accept everything you have Natsu, you should already know that." Mirajane said sitting up on his lap to look down at him.

Natsu shook his head in response. "Not like that. You have to accept my power _into_ you. Hold out your hand." He said raising his own, bringing a flame to his palm." Mirajane complied with his wishes, looking down at him while she held her hand out in front of her, palm up. Natsu held her eyes and let out a long, deep breath before placing the flame in her hand. As soon as it touched her skin it flared brightly before losing it's brilliance to turn into a small red stone. "You have to accept this into your body." He said shaking his head slightly. "If you don't want to you don't have to, I will not fault you for it. Everyone has the point that they are willing to go up to, if this is it…" He trailed off, closing his eyes. He couldn't say it, didn't want to say it, this was why he was afraid to tell her, why he had to bring her all the way out here before he could tell her about this part of their relationship.

"I accept everything about you Natsu, whether it is your child or your undying love… or your power. If you have to question it, maybe you need to take a look at what we have gone through together. I only want you; I only want to be the one person you can look to for help. I would do anything for you Natsu." Holding his eyes she brought the crystal of power to her chest and closed her eyes while holding it to her skin. She didn't know exactly what she was doing or how she was supposed to do with the crystal. She simply followed what he heart told her. Letting out a breath she didn't realize she was holding, Mirajane arched her back and felt the crystal melt in her hand to flood into her body, sending fire racing through her veins.

With a cry of passion, Mirajane fell against Natsu once again, her lips falling to claim his. Natsu kissed her back heatedly, thoroughly turned on at the display she had put on for him. Breaking the kiss he looked into her eyes. "One last step… From here you can't stop it; I won't be able to control it…" His body shook briefly before flipping her over with his body covering hers. He smiled down and kissed her again, pressing his erection against her. Mirajane smiled and dug her fingers into his hair, knowing where the night was going.

**As always, R & R please!**


	11. Moving Forward

**I do not own Fairy Tail, Hiro Mashima does!**

**I want to apologize for this chapter being so late; I ended up going on vacation so I could see my family that I haven't seen for 8 months. Been a little hectic so I haven't had time to write, but I made sure to get in a few minutes here and there. Hope you all enjoy.**

**Chapter 11: Moving Forward  
><strong>

Life could not have been going better for Mirajane. After her blissful week with Natsu in the wilderness she didn't think she could have felt closer to the Dragon Slayer. Mirajane knew without a doubt that now, more than ever, that Natsu was hers and hers alone. He had given her a piece of himself, laying out his heart for her to do with as she pleased.

Mirajane dipped her feet into the steamy water of her bathtub with a content sigh, the rest of her body following shortly after. The mess with Lisanna was long gone and though she wished to spend every moment with Natsu, she knew he was still had a large role in the guild. He had his duties to his teammates and needed to make it up to them for being gone so long.

Mirajane also felt bad for neglecting the guild so much. It had been her job to take care of just about everything for the members. A large majority of the guild would not have run without her. She purchased the food, ensured repairs were completed in a timely basis, and made sure that the mission board was fully stocked with the newest jobs. It brought her happiness to have watched everyone grow stronger and transform into what they were today. But she couldn't just sit back and watch any longer. Pregnant or not, she was determined to be more active in the guild, not just as the barmaid but as the S-class mage she was.

Mirajane shook her head to clear her mind, now wasn't the time to be mulling over what to do. She had already made up her mind; all she needed to do now was to act on those decisions. Slipping out of the bath, Mirajane wrapped a towel around herself and entered her adjoined room. After applying a generous amount of lotion to her silky skin and pulling her usual dress on, Mirajane left the house, looking back at it momentarily.

Natsu's little house was barely large enough for the two of them and Happy, let alone throwing an infant into the mix. It had actually been Lisanna's idea to offer up the Straus' house to the expecting parents as a way to make up for trying to break Mirajane and Natsu up. Sure the younger sibling still resided in the building, but after an extensive talk between Natsu and the two sisters, Lisanna had profusely apologized, claiming that she would never try anything again. Natsu had apologized as well, saying that it wasn't fair to have written off the younger woman simply because he had started a relationship with Mirajane. He swore to her that he would be a better friend.

Elfman had been another story, having all but moved out already. Mirajane couldn't believe she hadn't seen it, couldn't believe that she hadn't seen the change since she had gotten together with Natsu. According to Elfman, she had opened up his eyes to what he had been denying all this time and had made a move on Evergreen after all. After the incident with Lisanna, Elfman had started staying over with Evergreen, living with her so as to make sure she knew that he was serious about furthering their relationship. Mirajane was more than happy that her brother had finally found love, but also felt the sting of regret that she had been so absorbed in own her life that she hadn't seen it happen.

Mirajane's thoughts came to an abrupt halt as she pushed the doors to the guild open, a wide smile gracing her lips at what she saw. As usual, the guild was in chaos. Someone had started another fight and though it meant she would have to place another round of orders for furniture, it warmed her heart that this was one place that would never change over the years. No matter who joined, or who left, the guild moved along.

Casting her gaze over the damage, Mirajane spotted Kinana, the woman that had taken over the bar in her absence while they had been trapped on Tenrou. Rubbing her hands together, Mirajane walked over next to her, bumping her with her hip to get her attention. "How are things going Kinana?" She asked flashing a smile, dipping her hands into the warm water that filled the sink to help with the growing amount of dishes that were piling up. The two continued with idle talk, passing information back and forth about work before turning the subject to men and if the purple headed barmaid had eyes on any of the fairy tail mates. Kinana blushed and shook her head, claiming she was still looking for whoever kept talking to her through her mind.

* * *

><p>"Over here." Natsu whispered. Casting a glance over his shoulder at his teammates he gestured silently for them to stay low. Returning his gaze to the road ahead Natsu crept forward, slipping his rucksack from his back to free up his movements. It was a cue for the others to shed of their baggage. Natsu released a slow breath and gazed around the wide base of a tree.<p>

It had taken him nearly three days to track down this particular band of bandits. Every muscle strained to be released, ready to end the threat in front of him so they could head home. Erza grabbed his wrist tightly, giving him a wordless command to wait, the metal digging into his skin only showing him how hard it was for her to hold back.

Natsu nodded curtly, unhappy that she was still wanted to stick with the plan. On the dusty road ahead of them, Erza had convinced a traveling merchant to lure out the bandits, ensuring the man's protection as well as insuring his goods were anything to happen to them in the process. Said merchant had his cart stopped in the middle of the road, a lone figure standing just a few feet in front of the merchant's horses.

"We have to do something!" Lucy whispered urgently. A blade appeared in the figure's hand as if out of nowhere. The gesture was enough to bring a cry from the tree line surrounding the merchant's cart, other hooded figures stepping out to reveal themselves.

"Hey boss, looks like we have a few onlookers." The head figure called out, his blade leaving his hand with frightening speed towards the grouping of mages hiding in the trees. Erza reacted as fast as her reputation demanded, purple light surrounding her as she pulled a blade from her endless storage to appear in her hand just in time to deflect the blade.

Having been discovered, Team Natsu jumped from their hiding place. "Lucy, protect the merchant." Erza commanded, flourishing her blade. "We will take care of the rest."

"Don't take us so lightly, Miss Titania." A voice giggled, drawing the group's attention.

"If you know who we are, then you know why we are here. Make this easy on yourselves and turn yourselves in. No one has to get hurt here today." Natsu called out, fire rolling around his fists unconsciously.

"Oh, even the fabled Salamander is here to stop us? I didn't know we were that important." The woman teased, sauntering up slowly towards the group, the men creeping closer towards the cart.

"It doesn't matter how important you are or who you are. You have been terrorizing this town for long enough. We will stop you." He retorted with a scowl.

"Would you really hurt a woman? How could you hurt a poor defenseless lady like me? I didn't realize you Fairy Tail mages were so barbaric." She teased.

Natsu chocked out a laugh. "I hope you remember we gave you the choice to surrender after we end you. No one gets away with bad mouthing Fairy Tail." Clenching his fist, Natsu felt his knuckles strain against his taunt skin. Erza reached out to grab him, but he pulled away and launched himself forward. That was all it took for everyone to attack at once.

"**Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!**" Natsu lashed out at the nearest mage, taking him by surprise. Natsu roared as he attacked, flowing his attacks together in a relentless onslaught.

"**Ice Make: Lance!**" Gray slapped his fist into his palm before creating his ice lance, thrusting it over Natsu's shoulder to attack a bandit that was trying to sneak up on the Dragon Slayer.

"Watch what you're doing Ice Princess! You could have hit me!" Natsu threw another bandit off to the side. The two glared at one another. "I bet I can take out more than you can!"

"Yeah, I'm sure that an idiot like you could do anything more than destroy the forest." Gray retorted sarcastically. The two spun on one another and slammed their foreheads together. "I could kick your butt anytime."

Erza jumped over and grabbed the two by the collars of their shirts and forced them apart. "We don't have time for this, get back in there and stop the bandits already." She reprimanded. Two shouts of confirmations came from the two mages and she let them go. They charged over to Lucy to help her protect the merchant the best that they could.

In a matter of minutes the four mages had dispatched all of the underlings, but a cry from the merchant led the four to spin around. The leader had an arm wrapped around his neck, her other hand holding a blade against his neck. "Now that I have your attention… Why don't you four leave me and my friend here alone so we can have a little chat? Wouldn't want to cause an accident, now would we?" She teased, pressing the dagger into the merchant's skin.

Erza raised a hand to prevent Natsu from charging ahead, glaring across to the bandit leader. "No one else has to get hurt here, but you know we can't just let you go like that. You can turn yourself in and still leave yourself a chance to change, but if you force my hand, I won't have a choice but to take you down here and now."

"I don't think I like the sound of that. If you try anything I will have to slit this man's throat. Just leave and I'll let him go." The bandit claimed with a sly smile. "After I'm done, I'll stop by to give you my thanks for letting me go, especially you." She said winking at Natsu. "You and your fairy whore."

Natsu sat motionless for a moment before he smiled over at the woman, his expression dark, devoid of all humor. "If she heard you call her that, you wouldn't be here to say anything worse. Sorry Erza, but we can't let her off easily this time, I'll stop her. I'll show her what it means to insult not only Fairy Tail, but my wife." Despite Erza's glare Natsu pushed his way past her and slowly made his way closer to the bandit and her hostage.

"Not a step further, Dragon Slayer. I will slit his throat, I promise you that." The leader threatened, digging the dagger deeper into the merchant's skin.

Natsu stopped, but his grin remained. He took up a wide stance, dropping low into a ready fighting stance. "With four of us and one of you, I think I'll take my chances."

"You swore my safety! You'll just let her kill me?" The merchant demanded with a high pitched voice, trying to draw away from his captor. "Silence, you pompous idiot. If you don't shut up soon, I will do it on principle." She swore back at him.

Natsu drew in a deep breath, his chest puffing. "**Roar of the-**"

"Natsu! Don't!" Lucy screamed, lashing out with her **Fleuve d'étoiles **in a desperate attempt to disarm the bandit.

"**-Fire Dragon!**" Natsu expelled the breath he had sucked in, fire erupting from his lungs through his fists. The bandit leader flinched back; her dagger coming away from the merchant's throat just enough that Lucy's whip snapped on her wrist and caused her to drop the weapon. The fire streaked just a hair over the two's shoulders, singing the skin ever so slightly on their cheeks.

Before the attack even dissipated, Natsu had crossed the distance and slammed his fist into the woman's face, brushing the singed skin of the merchant only briefly. The woman shot back from the force of the attack, her arm coming out from around the merchant, whom Natsu grabbed and threw back to his awaiting teammates.

Without waiting for another moment, Natsu launched forward in a flurry of attacks, but the bandit attempted to deflect his attacks. Both of her arms turned to stone as she deflected once more of her attacks, using his momentum to slip past him and press herself into an offensive attack. Natsu smiled wider and lost himself in the rhythm of the battle he found himself in, dodging around attacks and blocking them when he couldn't. He was losing ground, but made her sweat for every inch she gained.

"How do you expect to defeat me with such a weak defense?" She questioned slamming her fist into his shoulder to send him flying back into a tree. The tree fell, sending a shudder through the ground.

Natsu chuckled and rolled the fallen log off of his back effortlessly, straightening while rolling his neck. "That actually hurt, I have to commend you for that. Now, attack me like you mean it." Natsu waited until the last moment and deflected her attack past him before slamming his forearm into her throat, upending her where she stood. The bandit slammed onto her back, Natsu's sandaled foot slamming down on her stomach to hold her there. "Too slow, yet again."

Erza stepped up and smacked Natsu over the back of the head with her gauntleted fist. "What were you thinking Natsu? She could have hurt the merchant!"

Natsu rubbed the back of his head and sighed. "A lot of things _could_ have happened, but they didn't. No one is hurt and the bandits were caught."

"That's not the point Natsu! We are a team; we have to work as one not just on our own. What would you have done if I hadn't hit her with my whip?" Lucy asked him angrily. Natsu simply smiled and shrugged his shoulders. "I trusted you to do it, you never let me down before." He responded happily. "Besides, you three were only a step behind me. I don't have anything to worry about with you three behind me."

"You put too much faith in us Natsu. It was only luck that you didn't get the merchant hurt. If she hadn't flinched at your attack, she would have slit his throat all the same." Lucy sighed and shook her head.

"You just said that we had to work as a team! If I trust you to do something and you are able to do it, then what's the problem?" Natsu snapped.

"I pray that Mira can reign you in at least a little before you get yourself, or worse yet her or _your child_ hurt."

* * *

><p>It had only been four days. Four days that Mirajane had been away from Natsu, or rather he had left her to go on a mission with his team. 'That isn't fair.' She told herself mentally. 'He had to go, we need the money and until I can get the guild settled I can't just up and disappear with him and his team because I want to be around him.'<p>

No matter how many times she told herself that same story, she knew if he came back and simply offered her the chance to come along with him, she would have jumped at the idea and would have dropped everything to be by his side.

The main guild doors opened suddenly and Mirajane jerked her eyes over to them, but sighed dejectedly. It still wasn't him and everyone had started to notice that she was watching the doors very closely. Letting out a small sigh, Mirajane went back to her work and walked back into the kitchen to cook up some of the orders that had been placed. After years of practice, she could practically cook everything on the menu without even thinking about it, much less pay attention.

Piling plates on the tray, Mirajane quickly passed out the food. As fast as she passed them out, she wasn't paying attention to the doors until smoke filled her nostrils. She spun to the doors and found them closed; only raising her worries. If it wasn't Natsu coming in, it had to be a fire. Quickly scanning the guild hall, she spotted a small fire and quickly ran over to it, stepping on the embers with the soles of her heels. A quick look around didn't show who or what had started the fire, but the smell of smoke didn't go away.

Finally, the doors opened to reveal Team Natsu. Excitement rippled through Mirajane, but Natsu wasn't with them. Mirajane's excitement fell instantaneously, her shoulders sagging slightly. Erza walked up to her and handed her a small slip of paper. "Natsu said to give you this."

Mirajane accepted the paper and opened it, reading it eagerly. '**Let's play a little game. Follow the fire to your next clue.**' Mirajane smiled and thanked the redhead with a quick hug before running over to the counter. She explained quickly to Kinana that she was going to take her break and that she would be back in a little while.

Excitement ran through the take-over mage. Doing exactly as the note said, Mirajane scanned the guild for any similar fires to the previous one. Finally, a small flicker of orange light caught her eye outside of the still open door of the guild. On further investigation, the fire was in fact shaped like an arrow to help guide her along the trail he had placed for her. Almost as soon as she saw it, the fire disappeared. She quickly rushed forward, her feet barely touching the ground in her excitement and anticipation.

The fires started to die out faster and faster, disappearing just a heartbeat after she caught sight of them until she failed to see exactly where it had pointed. In a panic, Mirajane scanned the ground around the passing crowd. In a desperate attempt to catch the fires again, Mirajane grabbed the edge of one of the overhanging's of a building and flipped herself to the top to get a better view.

She barely landed in time to see another fire die out again. Rushing forward, Mirajane failed to catch the direction it had pointed, but happened to catch sight of a flying blue cat. She quickly rushed over to him, but saw that he was waiting for her. "Mira, over here!" Happy called. "I thought you would have been here a while ago, but that doesn't matter. Natsu gave me your next task. He said to go get me a fish!"

Mirajane folded her arms over her chest. "I really doubt he told you to have me get you that. I'm not in the mood to play your little games; I want to see my husband."

Happy folded his arms over his chest and shook his head defiantly. "I won't tell you until you get me my fish!" Mirajane growled and grabbed him by his collar to pull him over to a stall selling cooked fish and handed over a handful of jewels, sweetly thanking the vendor before returning her glare to the Exceed.

"Here, take your fish. Now, what did Natsu tell you to tell me?" She demanded.

Happy plucked the fish from her grasp and happily smiled over at her now adoptive mother. "Come with me, I'm to take you to your next destination." Turning his back, Happy floated away happily, peaking back over his shoulder to make sure she was following. He lead the down along the tightly packed streets, seemingly with no destination in mind for how many times he circled the same streets.

"Do you even know where you're going? That's the fifth time we passed the clock tower." She demanded with a rough sigh.

"Nope. Natsu didn't tell me where we were supposed to go. Just said to keep you entertained until the big hand touches the small hand." He said pointing up at the clock.

"Then what were you supposed to do after that?" She questioned.

"Dunno, Natsu isn't the best at giving directions. What he said was, 'Keep Mirajane occupied until the big hand touches the small hand then show her the place we stopped before going home. What is that supposed to mean? We haven't gone home yet, so how can I show you where we stopped before going home?" Happy asked shrugging his shoulders.

Mirajane slapped her palm to her forehead and groaned loudly. "Did you go anywhere before he left you here? Anywhere that you usually don't go?" She stopped him and forced him to stay still, looking into his eyes questioningly.

"He took me to some clearing in the woods, but it was really boring. There weren't any fish or any games or anything we could do to have fun!" Happy complained sadly.

"Show. Me." Mirajane growled, glaring into the Exceed's eyes. Happy shied back in fear, pointing over towards the town wall. "Take me there. If you are quick about it…" Mirajane suddenly changed, a sweet smile spreading across her features. "If you are quick about it, I'll help you get Carla to accept a fish from you."

Happy's eyes watered and suddenly he cried flying into Mirajane's arms. "Thank you Mira! Don't let anyone tell you that you're as much of a demon as you used to be! You are so much nicer now that you're pregnant!"

Mirajane squeezed Happy's back gently. "Now show me where Natsu wanted you to take me." She said overly sweetly. Happy nodded and charged off in the direction he had indicated just a moment ago.

The two ran along silently, the only sound coming from the gentle slapping of their feet on the concrete. Concrete turned to dirt and grass before Happy stopped at the edge of a clearing, pointing towards a large singular tree in the center. "Natsu said to meet you there. I'm going home; I'll see you when you get back. Enjoooooooooy." Happy said over his shoulder flying away.

Mirajane watched the Exceed leave, wondering exactly what the two had actually planned. Shaking it off, she slowly made her way into the clearing towards the tree until she caught sight of her Dragon Slayer. Natsu was sitting with his back to the tree, his head leaning down on his chest while he snored softly. She couldn't help but smile and sit down next to him, leaning against his side with her head on his shoulder to let him sleep while still being close to him.

His heat filled her body, filling her heart with joy at just being close to him. She didn't know how she could feel so happy just being around him, but it was more than she could have hoped for. Kissing his cheek, she surrendered herself to him, his hand moving up her leg unconsciously, still asleep. He woke up quietly, raising his hand to her cheek to lean his forehead down to hers. "I knew waiting on Happy was too much to ask for. You nearly missed it."

Mirajane smiled and closed her eyes, placing her hand over his. She leaned into him and nodded while he continued. "I have a gift for you." Natsu pushed her hair from her neck and brought a necklace out of his pocket and wrapped it around her neck. "It will regulate your magic while mine builds within our child so it won't work against you. It'll keep you from transforming without meaning to. It's not really meant for that… It's meant to inhibit your powers, but it should work the same. Porlyusica gave it to me when I got back in town. Apparently Master and Porlyusica have been talking a lot about your pregnancy."

Mirajane shook her head and touched the black orb around her neck. "I'm sure it will be fine Natsu. It's only been a couple of weeks; I don't think anything will happen quite so soon. I'm worried about what will happen, but whatever comes, I know we can get through it together."

Natsu frowned and wrapped his arms around her. "This is the first time I've heard of a Dragon Slayer reproducing in the past several hundred years. I'm afraid of what we don't know."

"I'm not worried about the unknown. Every time you have been placed in an impossible position, we always figure out a way. This is no different Natsu. Except this time, we will both be side by side the entire time." Mirajane offered happily. "Together, we can get through this."

"I'm not just worried about that. One of the mages we fought against today knew about your pregnancy and said they were going to come after you. I'm worried I can't protect you." Natsu admitted.

**As always, R & R please!**

**I promise to update again soon. I'm forcing myself to have a little more time to write. Oh! And I talked to a few of you about ending this series and you aren't too keen on it ending, so with some of your help, I have found a new direction to take this. Expect more chapters to come!**


	12. Taken

**Sorry it took so long to get this up. Anyways, here it is, hope you enjoy.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 12: Taken<strong>

_"I'm not worried about the unknown. Every time you have been placed in an impossible position, we always figure out a way. This is no different Natsu. Except this time, we will both be side by side the entire time." Mirajane offered happily. "Together, we can get through this."_

_"I'm not just worried about that. One of the mages we fought against today knew about your pregnancy and said they were going to come after you. I'm worried I can't protect you." Natsu admitted._

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><p>Natsu shook his head at the mission in his hands. He reread it again to make sure he had read it right. Tossing the sheet of paper on the table he looked over at his Exceed friend sitting across from him. "That's the fifth one this week!" Natsu cried out throwing his hands in the air. "How many people out there know about us being pregnant?! What does it even matter that we are?"<p>

Even after he said it, Natsu knew it would only take one or two people that knew to spread the word. Once gossip got a foothold it would not take very long before everyone knew about it. In fact it seemed that everyone had already figured it out. After the first mission had come in requesting Mirajane personally, Natsu had thought nothing of it and they had gone. It was supposed to be a simple job, hunting down a petty thief that liked to target beautiful women.

He had been wrong; it had all been a ploy to get the two of them to show up. There had been no thief. The noble that had put out the mission merely wanted Mirajane to show up so he could see for himself and ask if she was in fact pregnant. It became obvious that the man was in love with Mirajane, or at least the Mirajane that the public saw. The noble had been outraged to find out that it was the truth.

If Mirajane hadn't grabbed ahold of Natsu in time, Natsu would have beaten him within an inch of his life. The two mages had left without another word, not even worried about the payment they had been promised for the false mission. Ever since then, Natsu knew that Mirajane had been hiding these jobs from him, stashing them away before he would notice them. If it weren't for Happy, he would never have known that there was more than the first mission.

The jobs were getting bolder, all but saying what they really wanted to say. "Did you find us a mission?" Mirajane asked, suddenly appearing behind Natsu. The Dragon Slayer jumped unconsciously and looked over his shoulder at his wife. It had been just over a month since they had found out and she still wasn't showing any outward signs of being pregnant, but Natsu could feel it within her. He knew, she knew, the guild knew. It was all that mattered to him.

"Yeah." He said bitterly, flinching at the tone in his own voice. Snatching the mission flier from the table he handed it over to her.

Mirajane sighed and shook her head upon seeing what the mission was. "I thought I hid this from you, how do you keep finding them? Besides, why do you want to do this, you know what they want."

Natsu nodded slowly, indicating he knew what the job really meant. "I want to finish this; these people that take these jobs out are just as bad as the ones that threaten to take our child away. We need to end this. Make an announcement, whatever, as long as these people go away, I don't care how we do it." Pushing himself out of the seat he grabbed happy under his arm and took Mirajane's hand with his free hand and pulled her along with him over to where Kinana was wiping down the counter. "Hey Kinana, we are going to take this job."

Kinana stashed her rag in the front of her apron and took the mission from Mirajane with a smile. "Just give me one minute to put this into the log…" She said, pulling out a large book from under the counter. True to her word, it only took but a moment to sign off on the mission before she handed the flier back to the trio. "Have a safe trip, and Natsu, please don't destroy any more towns… It's more work than you know to keep you out of prison."

Natsu smiled brightly, taking it as a compliment. "No promises this time. This time it's justified." Turning, the three left the guild hall, leaving a Kinana to stand there confused. Looking down at the job she had written down her eyes grew. As fast as her legs would take her, she ran off to the master's office and kicked the door open. Makarov popped up from his chair, wiping away the drool that had started to fall while he slept. "What's wrong with you! Can't you let an old man sleep?"

"Sorry for the intrusion sir, but this is important." Kinana said quickly as she dropped the book down on the table to point at the name of the requester for the job Natsu had just taken. "I don't think he knows who he is headed towards, should we warn him?"

Makarov shut the book and smiled. "Don't worry about Natsu, he'll be alright."

Kinana looked questioningly at Master Makarov. "He took Mirajane with him, I don't want something to happen just because she's pregnant. I know she is strong and everything…. But I can't help but worry."

Makarov shook his head over at his waitress. "I don't see anyone ever getting between Natsu and his child. If they need any help, they will come to us. Trust them otherwise." Kinana nodded and left the room to return to her work.

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><p>Mirajane smiled down at her husband and ran her fingers through his hair. Though he hated the train, his motion sickness always rearing up whenever he set foot on the contraption, she enjoyed the small trips they took between their missions. It gave her a chance to see the parts of him that he didn't like to show. Everyone knew about his weakness, in fact the entire continent seemed to know about Dragon Slayers and their weakness for transportation.<p>

A gentle chime sounded overhead to indicate they were approaching their destination, spurring Mirajane to shake Natsu and Happy. "Come on, we have to go. We might as well get this over with." Leaving a gentle kiss on his forehead, Mirajane shook him again, earning a displeased moan.

"Just leave him here. It'll go a lot smoother if we just go the two of us." Happy offered. He jumped off Natsu's chest and stretched his arms, his wings popping out of his back as he took flight.

Mirajane giggled to herself at the thought of Natsu lying on the train for the next few hours while she took care of the mission on her own. "I think you're right Happy. He needs to understand that just because people want to know about the pregnancy that it doesn't mean they are going to do something besides rant."

Happy landed on Mirajane's shoulder and raised a fist in triumph. "Aye! If something does happen, I'll protect you!" Mirajane smiled and laughed as she stood up, careful to not drop Natsu's head too hard on the bench they had been sitting on. As soon as they stopped Mirajane grabbed her small pack and left the train with Happy, leaving Natsu behind on the train.

Mirajane stood to watch the train slowly depart before it began to pick up speed, carrying off her Dragon Slayer into the distance. "Poor Natsu." She whispered, somewhat regretting that she put him through more of his sickness. Shaking the thought from her mind she turned and slung her pack over her shoulder and started down the street, digging the flier from her pack to get the address.

In almost no time at all, Mirajane stood in front of the large mansion that matched up with the address. Knocking on the door, Mirajane hugged Happy with one arm, petting his fur gently. Almost as soon as she was done knocking, a butler appeared at the door, cracking it open just enough to get a glimpse of who it was. "Miss Mirajane!" He shouted ripping the door open all the way. "We are so glad you have come, please come inside."

Mirajane smiled ever so slightly and stepped inside. "Would you be so kind as to tell me what you need me for? The only description in your mission flier was that you required my assistance to get rid of an unwanted guest." Happy jumped out of her arms and proceeded to walk ahead of her, staring in awe at the art laid out along the walls. "Happy." Mirajane called down to him, gesturing up towards herself. "Stick close and don't touch anything."

Happy jerked upright and looked up into Mirajane's glare nervously. "Aye Mira, I won't touch anything!"

Satisfied that Happy wouldn't do anything, Mirajane turned back to the butler and followed him down the long hallway. "But of course Miss, we needed you specifically because this fellow seems to have some kind of ties with you. You are all he talks about, so we thought if you came here, maybe you could get him to leave."

Mirajane frowned and clenched her pack a little tighter. "Who exactly is this, and why couldn't you just call the town guard to come get them for you?" Her suspicion suddenly rose as the butler smiled to himself. It was gone so fast that she couldn't be sure she saw it, but it served as a reminder to keep her eyes open to their surroundings.

"Master said that it would be better this way. In fact, I believe it is better that you have come alone, your husband would have made things worse." The butler explained, waving his hand in the air before stopping at a door. "One moment Miss, let me make sure the master is ready to meet with you." He knocked quietly before cracking the door open. "Master, Miss Mirajane is here. Would you wish for her to come in first or to simply get started with the job?"

"Nonsense, bring here in here!" Called a jovial voice. The butler opened the door the rest of the way and gestured with an outstretched arm and a bow that she was to enter. The man that greeted her appeared to be about sixty years old and greatly overweight. "What a pleasure to finally meet you Mirajane. Thank you for coming all the way out here. I am the head of this house, Kai Cruze. I take it Gerard told you about the mission we have for you?"

Mirajane curtsied at the edge of the desk at the exact moment Happy landed on her shoulder. "Aye, we are to get rid of some unwanted guest, right?" Happy asked curiously.

"What? No, my son wished to meet you and your husband. He has always had a fascination with mages and when we heard the most joyous news of your pregnancy, he wished to ask you about the odds of you conceiving a mage of your own." Kai said cocking his head to the side. "What was this about getting rid of some unwanted guest?"

Mirajane produced the flier and handed it over to the gentleman. "It says here that you require me for getting rid of some unwanted guest from your household." She explained, holding back her confusion and resentment at the real reason for the mission.

Kai looked over the flier and slid it back over to her. "I didn't put this out. It doesn't even have my name on it, see here… Coldak. It has my address, but that isn't me." He explained. "I guess it really doesn't matter how you got here, as long as you and your husband are here. Speaking of which, where is the notorious Salamander anyways? I figured with you being pregnant, he would want to be with you at all times."

Mirajane shook her head. "He isn't here mister Cruze, he is still on the train. We didn't know the real reason you wanted us here. Are you sure you put in the mission yourself?"

"No, I had my butler Gerard put it in. I was sure he put down the real reason." Kai said standing up and walking to the door. "Kai, come in here for a moment would you?" Kai left the door open before returning to his desk, gesturing for Mirajane to have a seat. Gerard appeared almost immedietaly.

"What can I do for you master? Shall she start on the mission?" Gerard asked with a bow.

"Later." Mirajane said, cutting Kai off before he could speak. "Why did you tell me I was here to get rid of an unwanted guest? Why did you lie to me?" Mirajane folded her arms across her chest, her voice low and sinister.

"Oh my, now I can see why everyone calls you a demon. I'm afraid I don't know what you are talking about though miss. I did not lie; you are here to get rid of an unwanted guest." Gerard said cocking his head to the side with a smile.

"She is here to speak with my son, nothing more. Explain yourself Gerard." Kai said harshly.

Gerard waved his hand dismissively. "Exactly what I'm talking about. We called you here to get rid of an unwanted guest. With Cruze here asking questions, I guess it's two guests we need to get rid of." He said with a sigh. Mirajane jumped to her feet and quickly brought out her **Satan Soul**, dropping into a fighting stance. "That won't be necessary Mirajane; you could very well sleep through all of this. Why don't we proceed then?" Spreading his arms wide, Gerard snapped his fingers and a staff appeared out of the air.

"Sir, you need to get off. This is the third time you have ridden back and forth. If you wish to continue to ride, you need to pay for another ticket." Natsu flinched and groaned. Through sheer willpower, Natsu pushed himself into a sitting position and turned to look at the attendant. "Where are the two that I was with?" He asked.

"They got off about two hours ago. You yourself should head out too. You do not look very well sir." The attendant said with a weak smile. "We've just arrived."

Natsu jumped out of the seat and immediately fell to a knee with a groan. He shrugged off the attendants help with a grunt and made his way to the door, using the wall as support. "Thanks, I appreciate you waking me." He mumbled before all but falling out the door. Energy flowed through him once again.

Letting out a low growl, Natsu sniffed the air. "It's faint… but it's there…" He whispered to himself before setting off in the direction of his beloved. He only stopped when he reached the end of the trail. Standing in front of the mansion he could only suspect that she had gone inside. Reaching his hand to pound on the door, Natsu stopped and took a deep breath. One breath turned into three before he could get ahold of his nerves enough to gently knock on the door.

Despite his need to find his wife, he didn't want to burst into someone's home and make a fool of himself. He had incurred her wrath before and didn't want to make her look bad just because he had been nervous to the point that he would destroy something.

Just as he was about to knock again a butler showed up. "Can I help you sir? Oh! Forgive me sir Dragneel. I did not recognize you. How may I be of service?" Gerard asked opening the door fully.

"I'm here for the mission you have sent us." Natsu said, biting back his anger.

Gerard cocked his head to the side as if confused. "Has something gone wrong with the payment? Your wife left here not just an hour ago. She finished the job quite fast if I must say so."

Natsu's eyes narrowed and he took a step forward. "I know she's here. I don't know what you have done, but I am not leaving without her."

Gerard stepped back and covered his heart, feigning insult. "Sir, I do believe you are mistaken. You are free to come in and have a look about if you so wish it." He offered stepping back again and offering Natsu a path to enter the mansion. Natsu glared at the man, bearing his teeth at the butler.

Natsu scanned the entrance hall and sniffed the air a couple of times. He could smell her everywhere, but it was faint. As if she had already left. "Did she tell you where she was going?" Natsu asked.

"But of course! She claimed she was headed to see they mayor about an increase in thieves and bandits in the area. That was who we needed her to get rid of you see. We had a band of thieves that kept showing up unwanted. She took care of them without any trouble." Gerard said happily, clasping his hands in front of him while he followed Natsu around the building while he searched.

Natsu stopped in front of a wall, Mirajane's scent stronger there. Almost as if she were still there, but upon putting his hand on it, Natsu could tell that there was nothing behind it but stone. "As you say, she isn't here." Natsu said suddenly, spinning around and heading out the main door without a glance back. "I will take my leave. Have a pleasant evening."

Gerard shut the door behind Natsu and smiled at the heavy wooden door. "What a fool." He turned and walked back down the hall to where Natsu had stood just moments before. He ran his own hand along the wall. "So close, yet unknowingly so far from you." He said sadistically. "Your child will fetch a large sum. Rumor has it that it will be a Dragon Slayer like its father. I hope for your sake it is. We won't have to kill you afterwards if it is. We can use you to breed more."

Mirajane glared through the spell at the mage that held her hostage. 'Natsu will find me.' She thought to herself. 'He won't give up until he does.'

**As always, R & R please.**


	13. Retrieval

**No author's note this time, simply enjoy!**

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><p><strong>Chapter 13: Retrieval<strong>

_Gerard shut the door behind Natsu and smiled at the heavy wooden door. "What a fool." He turned and walked back down the hall to where Natsu had stood just moments before. He ran his own hand along the wall. "So close, yet unknowingly so far from you." He said sadistically. "Your child will fetch a large sum. Rumor has it that it will be a Dragon Slayer like its father. I hope for your sake it is. We won't have to kill you afterwards if it is. We can use you to breed more."_

_Mirajane glared through the spell at the mage that held her hostage. 'Natsu will find me.' She thought to herself. 'He won't give up until he does.'_

Natsu cursed under his breath. Darkness was just taking hold over the small town and her scent was fading rapidly. Her scent ended inside that house and he knew she was there. Despite the faint scent when he had been there the first time, he had felt her presence.

In that one particular spot, Natsu had felt as if she were standing right in front of him. He could not have started a fight there and then. If she had been right there in front of him he could not have chanced hurting her in the process of saving her. He had to be careful with the child growing inside her.

Now crouching outside of the building just a few houses down, Natsu reached up and ran his hands through his hair. He had been sitting there for the past few hours, waiting for them to try and transport her to wherever they planned on holding her in the future. No one had left the house, but he had seen quite a few people enter.

Whoever was really behind Mirajane's abduction was organized, but the people they had hired had a scruffy appearance, almost as if they had been picked up off the streets just for this purpose.

Every passing moment ate away at Natsu's thin patience. He knew how destructive he was, knew that no matter how much he tried, he would only bring harm to those around him. It brought more questions to his mind, could he save her? Would he be able to protect her in the future? Where was Happy? Why had they left him on the train in the first place?

As the thoughts pounded their way through his mind, he could feel himself losing his rational line of thinking. He was growing desperate to save her, to get his mate back. All thought stopped when he felt the brick under his hand shatter.

Natsu forced himself to take a slow calming breath and let go of the jagged fragments of stone. After a few breaths, Natsu leapt into action. He had had enough of waiting.

If all he could do was destroy, he would grab his enemies' attention and force them to come to him. With a roar, Natsu called forth his magic and let the flames burst from every portion of his body in a vortex. "Mirajane!" He called out.

Metal melted under the intensity of his fire and a loud screech ripped through the air as he ripped the gate from the fence and threw it across the lawn. His fire browned the grass around him and blackened the stone under his feet with every step he took. "Give me back my mate!" He roared.

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><p>Gerard pulled the curtains from the window apart and let out a gasp, holding his hand over his heart in feigned surprise. "I dare say it took him long enough to come back for you my dear." He called back to Mirajane. "Your fool of a husband didn't even go for help."<p>

Mirajane couldn't help the flutter of hope in her stomach. Instead she funneled it into a heated glare, fixing her eyes on Gerard. "You are a fool yourself if you think you can take him on yourself."

"Oh, my dear, you have me all wrong. My magic will not work on him the same way it does you. I have more men to take care of him; men much more suited to killing." Gerard explained with a sly smile.

"What do you mean it won't work the same way on him? What exactly did you do to me? Why is it so hard to move my body?" Mirajane spat out.

"I did nothing to you. You were the one that neglected your magic for so long. Everything that has happened has been of your own accord. Your body does what I want it to, but only because I showed it that you weren't suitable to command it. I can't control your body, but I can control the magic within you to move you as I see fit. I can make you do anything I wanted." With a dismissive wave Gerard turned to look out the window. "Enough of that; come now and watch your beloved husband fall."

"You can't kill a Dragon Slayer like you can anyone else, let alone Natsu. Not only is he one of the strongest members of our guild, but he has more heart than anyone I know. He won't give up until he has what he wants." Mirajane countered, folding her arms across her chest.

Gerard looked back over his shoulder and his smile grew larger, more devilish. "He isn't the only Dragon Slayer that wants you for himself. The boss sent us to get you as soon as he heard you two were married."

Mirajane tried to hold herself in place against the wall but Gerard beckoned her over with a crook of his finger. Her body slowly moved as if it had a mind of its own, no matter how hard she fought it. "Natsu won't be defeated that easily, it doesn't matter who he is up against. He won't just let another Dragon Slayer, let alone anyone else, have me against my will."

Gerard bent down and grabbed her by her jaw and made her look up at him. "That's the beauty of it all, my dear. With my magic, he won't know it is against your will." Mirajane opened her mouth to object, but nothing came out. "See? You cannot deny that you don't' want this. If you can't put words to your plea, he will never know."

Mirajane looked over the scene out the window and froze. For a brief moment she thought she had met Natsu's black diamonds but no recognition appeared from him. Instead he continued to scan for her, searching the windows and the side of the building. Somehow, Gerard was still masking her sight from view. 'Be safe Natsu.' She thought to herself. No matter how much power Gerard had over her physical body, he couldn't force her mind to agree.

* * *

><p>Natsu dropped into a fighting stance when men started to pour out from the main entrance of the mansion. The flames died out around him so he could preserve his energy, but the fire around his fists remained. As if turned by a switch, the men attacked as one. Natsu widened his stance and smiled. "<strong>Fire Dragon's Roar!<strong>" He called out, puffing his chest up before expelling fire at the oncoming attackers.

Some of the men managed to dive out of the way with a cry, more out of surprise than fright. Multiple men quickly recovered though and regained their footing and sprinted towards the Dragon Slayer. Knives, swords, and large blunt objects split through the air but Natsu confidently maneuvered his way between the men. He dodged around their attempts to wound him and returned their aggression with a flaming kick.

In a matter of minutes Natsu had cleaned up the weak henchmen. He stomped to the door, but before he could open it, it kicked open causing him to flip back out of the way. Gerard stood in the doorway with Mirajane a step behind him and to his left. She stood with her eyes down, her hands clasped in front of her meekly. "I think you have caused enough trouble for today young Dragon Slayer. As you can see, Mirajane here is unharmed." Gerard gestured behind him, half turning his body to give Natsu a better view.

"Mirajane!" Natsu called out, stepping closer to her. Gerard stepped fully in front of her and folded his arms across his chest. "Get out of the way, butler. You have held my wife here long enough. I'm taking her home."

Gerard smiled slyly. "She doesn't want to go with you."

"What are you talking about? Get out of my way!" Natsu cried out.

"I will say it one more time. Mirajane does not want to go with you; she wishes to stay here, where she can be protected." Gerard said narrowing his eyes. "Ask her for yourself if you don't believe me."

Natsu looked over Gerard's shoulder at Mirajane and frowned. "What is he talking about Mirajane? Why is he saying you want to stay? Is that why you left me on the train back there?" He asked, his fears gripping him tightly. "Where is Happy?"

Mirajane lifted her face and shook her head, but said nothing. "I need to hear it from you Mirajane. Why?"

Mirajane once again shook her head, but opened her mouth to speak. "Just… leave." Her voice was strangled as if it hurt her to say it. Her eyes spoke of that pain, but she didn't back down. "I didn't want it to end like this. Please… just go."

Natsu smiled despite what she was saying. "I don't believe you. If you really wanted this to end, you wouldn't have hid from me."

"You are a bigger fool than we had thought. We thought that if she told you what she wanted, you would do as she wished. Maybe we were too kind. Mastery Ryou?" Gerard said turning around. "Would you care to prove it to the young Dragon Slayer?"

At Gerard's suggestion a dark cloaked man stepped forward from the interior of the house, drawing Mirajane out the door with him to stand a few feet from Natsu. "Perhaps you are right Gerard." Pulling his hood off, Ryou pushed his long green hair from his eyes, fixing Natsu with his dead hazel eyes. "You would have gotten your mate killed had I not found her in time. You don't know what our magic puts on women that aren't prepared when they get pregnant."

Natsu stepped forward and grabbed Ryou's arm roughly. "I don't care what you think you know. There hasn't been a Dragon Slayer born in over four decades. Mirajane is stronger than you think she is."

Ryou smiled and pulled his arm back from Natsu, but it never met his eyes. "I lost my mate because I didn't know what we were getting into. I came to your mate to keep her from meeting the same fate. Don't blame me that your mate decided you weren't strong enough to save her. She stays with me by her own will."

Mirajane stepped closer to Ryou and hugged onto his arm. "Don't make this any more difficult than it already is Natsu. Please… I don't want this."

Without warning Ryou pulled Mirajane away from Natsu and pulled her towards the door. "I'll take care of her. You won't have to worry about that."

Natsu grabbed Ryou's arm again and pulled him roughly away from Mirajane, making the other Dragon Slayer let go of her arm. "You weren't listening to what she said." His eyes narrowed on the lifeless hazel eyes. "No matter what she does, you can't hide that she doesn't want this. I can see it, but more that I can feel it."

Ryou grabbed Natsu by the throat and lifted him from the ground. "I am older and stronger than you. If you won't let her go, I will take her from you." He threw Natsu back a few feet. "I am tired of trying to play this the nice way. Gerard, take her inside, I will be there in a few minutes."

Gerard grabbed Mirajane's arm, but she didn't move. Her body shook visibly as if she didn't want to move from the spot. "Get moving Mirajane, you will do as you are told!" Dragging her along, Gerard continued to berate her verbally.

Fire burst up Mirajane's arm, singing Gerard's hand so that he pulled it away. Mirajane fell to the ground with a cry, reaching her hand up to hold it over where she had felt the fire. Her hand came away clean, but she felt as if someone had pricked her nerves.

"What was that?" Mirajane whispered to no one in particular. A sickening thud brought her head up to see Natsu lying on the ground beneath Ryou's feet.

"That was your child reacting to your emotions. If you don't get it under control soon, your child will burn you from the inside out." Ryou said without taking his eyes off Natsu.

Natsu grabbed Ryou's ankle and looked up at him. "I won't make the same mistake you did. I know what you feel with what you lost. If you keep trying to take my mate from me, you will only bring that pain on someone else."

Ryou smiled down at Natsu. "You are weak to believe you can stop me. You don't even know what kind of power I have. I could destroy you where you lie."

Natsu smiled up at Ryou. "I won't let you have her. If you plan on killing me, you will have to just try it. I have to live to make sure she is protected. That and so our child will grow up happily with both of their parents."

Ryou lifted his foot to stomp down on Natsu, but Natsu caught his foot and shoved him back. Natsu jumped to his feet and launched himself forward. "**Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!**"

"**Water Wall!**" Ryou called out a brief moment before Natsu's attack connected. The Water Dragon Slayer let the attack drop and smiled at his opponent. "My turn. **Water Dragon Spear!**" Two jets of water shot from Ryou's hands and solidified in the air as he advanced. Natsu followed in his example and brought out a bar of fire from his hand, focusing on keeping it solid as he attempted to fend off Ryou's attacks.

"Pitiful." Ryou spat, stabbing with his spears. Natsu created a wall of fire around him briefly that turned the water into steam. Ryou smiled and threw more attacks, letting the steam of his water fill the air around them. He advanced faster, attacking unrelentingly.

Natsu retreated little by little, keeping at the edge of the growing steam before he abandoned his attempts to guard himself and threw himself forward. "**Fire Dragon's Talon!**" He called out flipping himself through the air as he lashed out with deadly kicks.

Ryou deflected Natsu's attacks with the palms of his hands, the water he was using to protect himself disappearing instantly. Ryou jumped back holding his hands tightly, knowing they were burnt. Natsu's flames burned hotter, his eyes filling with hatred for the other Dragon Slayer. "**Dragon Slayer's Secret Art! Crimson Lotus: Exploding Flame Blade!**" Natsu spun his arms in front of him in a circle and unleashed his attack in a fiery explosion. Before Ryou could recover from the attack, Natsu was there again to slam him into the ground. "**Fire Dragon's Flame Elbow!**" Fire jettisoned out of Natsu's right elbow, propelling his fist forward fast enough to drive Ryou's head into the ground.

"Natsu stop!" Mirajane called out, surprising herself that she was able to speak of her own free will. Natsu spun on her, his eyes fearful of why she had stopped him. Mirajane looked around for Gerard and saw him kneeling motionless in the grass not far off, his eyes glued to the immobile figure of his master. "He knows more than anyone on what to expect, he can help us!"

She didn't know whether she went to him or he came to her, but before she could blink they were standing in front of one another. Natsu reached out tentatively to her, touching her cheek gently. "Did they hurt you?" He whispered. Mirajane shook her head silently, wrapping her arms around his shoulders to bury her head into his neck.

"Do you know where they took Happy?" He asked after a moment. With another shake of the head, Mirajane pushed back from Natsu.

"I knew you would come back for us." She admitted before gesturing off towards Gerard. "He would know if anyone would about what they did with Happy." Steeling herself, Mirajane walked over to the cowering mage and grabbed him by the collar of his jacket.

Gerard's eyes widened at the sight of her, but he turned a ghastly white when Natsu stepped up behind her shoulder. "I swear I only did what I had to do, he made me do it!" Gerard tried to reason.

Mirajane wasn't having any of it. "What did you do with my friend? The blue cat I came in with, where did you put him?"

Gerard opened and closed his mouth, trying to find the words he needed to explain their actions, but they didn't come out. "What did you do with Happy?" Natsu demanded in a growl. Gerard lifted a hand shakily and pointed towards the doorway. "Down the hall… last door on the right and down the stairs. We threw him down there to stop his whining."

Natsu took Gerard from Mirajane and gestured with his chin for her to go get their feline friend. "I'll keep these two company while we wait for the council's army to get here." Mirajane didn't wait for another moment before she disappeared into the doorway of the mansion, her hands tightening into fists for fear of what she would find.

* * *

><p>True to his words, the council's army showed up within the hour. Mirajane held a limp Happy in her arms, but from what she could tell he wasn't hurt, just exhausted. Tears stained his fur and he had slight bruises over his paws where she expected he had tried to escape from the room to no avail.<p>

Natsu held one arm around his mate, refusing to let go. "Natsu… I'm sorry we left you on the train. I wanted to show you that I was strong enough to do this on my own. But, as you can see, I couldn't do it…"

Natsu shook his head slowly. "We both were in the wrong here. You were right to keep the job from me, but we should have thought about it before we rushed in without heads on backwards. From here forth until our child is born, we should look into having you stay with the guild whenever we aren't together. No one is stupid enough to attack us there." With a sigh Natsu ran his fingers though Happy's matted fur. "I'm sure he would be angry with us for how things turned out… We probably will get an ear full when he wakes up. Come on, let's go home."

Mirajane nodded sullenly and watched briefly as the army took the Dragon Slayer and all of his henchmen, only moving when Natsu gently tugged on her arm to get her walking.

* * *

><p><strong>As always, R &amp; R please!<strong>

**Before anyone says anything, yes Ryou will make another appearance, but I'm not sure yet whether he has evil intentions or not.**


	14. Weakness

**Forgive me for neglecting this story; I hope I can keep up with your expectations for what is to come!**

**There are only a few more chapters left so stick with me here!**

**Chapter 14: Weakness**

* * *

><p><em>Natsu shook his head slowly. "We both were in the wrong here. You were right to keep the job from me, but we should have thought about it before we rushed in without heads on backwards. From here forth until our child is born, we should look into having you stay with the guild whenever we aren't together. No one is stupid enough to attack us there." With a sigh Natsu ran his fingers though Happy's matted fur. "I'm sure he would be angry with us for how things turned out… We probably will get an ear full when he wakes up. Come on, let's go home."<em>

_Mirajane nodded sullenly and watched briefly as the army took the Dragon Slayer and all of his henchmen, only moving when Natsu gently tugged on her arm to get her walking._

A month had passed since the encounter with Ryou and Mirajane could honestly say that she had never been as happy and irritated at the same time as she felt in that exact moment. It wasn't that Natsu had changed, not really. He was as overprotective as he had ever been, but with her pregnancy she had a heightened awareness of her surroundings. He was always there, always within shouting distance and never leaving her alone longer than he had to.

Yet, in those moments that she felt at her lowest, whenever she questioned if they were really ready for a child or if she questioned if she would still be attractive after their child was born and if he would still find her as appealing as he currently did, Natsu would seemingly appear out of the blue and reassure her. Never with words, but with his actions, almost as if he could feel what she was thinking and knew he had to do something. He left her with mere fleeting touches or small gestures.

One particular moment she had stood at the door of the guild after he had been gone for a few days on a mission awaiting his return when out of nowhere her eyes filled with tears. Natsu had stepped out of thin air, gently brushing the hair that had fallen in front of her face back over her ear and smiled. It was that one smile that she had never seen him give anyone else; that same smile that made her heart skip a beat, not the usual toothy grin that people saw but instead more tightly lipped, his canines poking out of the corners of his smile just barely.

It never stopped there, wherever she went he was there, catching her eye but always letting her do things for herself. He let her have her freedom, but was always there when she needed him. If she weren't already pregnant she knew that Natsu would still have been there for her in the same way.

It was everyone else that had become the main problem. No matter what she said, they kept treating her like she was fragile and would break if she underwent any form of stress. What they never realized was that they were doing exactly what they were hoping to keep from her and it was indeed stressing her out, making them try harder to keep her from getting stressed. It was a vicious cycle that they would hear nothing about, ignoring her pleas. It was where she found herself at the moment, sitting in a stool at the bar rather than working behind it like she had wanted to.

"Mira, just relax. It's Kinana's job to work the counter now." Natsu whispered soothingly from the seat next to her, his hand resting on her shoulder gently.

Mirajane sighed and ran her hands through her hair. "I know, but I need to do something!" She whined. "After the last time my magic failed despite this pendant you gave me, I know I can't go on missions with you, but you still have to go so we can have enough money saved up for when the baby comes. I'm not complaining that you have to leave, but sometimes I feel like I'm useless to you just waiting until you come back." She cast a small pout, her eyebrows pinching together. "Master even forbade me from working the counter while you are gone. I have nothing to do here while you are gone; no one lets me do anything for myself."

Natsu smiled, but kept silent knowing that she was just trying to blow off steam. Turning her back towards him he pulled her back up against his chest, his hands resting over her pronounced stomach while he listened. "Lisanna won't even let me clean up after the fights, or even the house! Whenever you aren't around she or Erza follow me around like I'll go and get myself lost if they aren't there. And now I'm rambling because I can't devote my train of thought to anything because I'm useless and it's driving me crazy!" She said exasperatedly, leaning back into her husband and placing her hands over his.

Natsu chuckled quietly and kissed her shoulder. "Things will get better; you don't have to worry about that. Besides, you are far from useless! Without you here who would I steal kisses from, who would I get to cook for me?!" He teased, knowing that cooking was one of the things that she enjoyed doing for him when she could sneak into the kitchen unnoticed. "Not to mention the most important thing you have _growing_ in you. Our daughter will be worth every day you spent off your feet."

Mirajane groaned and let her head fall down onto her chest to look down at the child growing within her. "If this morning sickness keeps up, I won't be in much of a mood to see you off tomorrow. Can we go home? As much as I want to sit around with you, I'm still tired from sitting around all day." She pushed herself away from him, a light bulb going off in her head. "See! I've been so lazy these past few months that I'm too tired to do nothing!"

With a sigh, Natsu pushed himself out of the seat and pulled her down off the chair, holding her hand tightly within his own. "You better get your sleep while you can." Bisca called over to the two as they started to leave. "The first few months are going to be trying Mira; you will wish for the days that you could sleep in and not have to worry about anything."

Mirajane tugged on Natsu's hand and drug him over to where Bisca, Azlack, and Asuka sat. "Would you mind if I stole your wife and daughter tomorrow, Azlack?" She asked sweetly, though from the aura around her he could feel that it wasn't a request but a demand. "I feel that I will need some girl time with someone that has actually gone through a pregnancy."

Bisca nodded her head enthusiastically and Asuka merely cheered while throwing her hands into the air giggling happily, the three of them making plans to meet up at Mirajane's place after Natsu was to leave for his mission.

Halfway home Mirajane stumbled slightly, but Natsu caught her and swiftly pulled her into his arms bridal style. "My hero." She swooned pressing the back of her wrist to her forehead, suppressing a giggle by biting her lower lip. Natsu carried her back to the house that way, only letting her down when they reached the living room and he could set her down on the large couch.

Lisanna poked her head out of the kitchen. "Just in time, I was about to make dinner. Anything particular you want?"

Mirajane smiled and looked over at her younger sister and thrust her fist up in the air. "Spaghetti!" She cried out excitedly. The younger sibling nodded and smiled before going back to the task. Mirajane turned her attention back to Natsu, who sat at the far end of the couch with her feet propped up on his lap. She pushed her feet into his abs and smiled sweetly. Natsu stared at her a moment in contemplation before sighing in defeat, picking one of her feet up between his burning hot hands. Mirajane moaned softly and closed her eyes.

"Hey!" Came a shout from the kitchen. "She's already pregnant! Save that for when you two are alone!"

Natsu chuckled and shook his head. "No promises, Liss." He raised an eyebrow over at Mirajane, giving her a crooked smile.

Mirajane kicked him with her free foot in response, but smiled enthusiastically anyways. "Tell me about the mission you two are going on tomorrow." She said, changing the subject.

"Well, we should be back by dinner if we leave early enough. Lisanna found us something just a couple of towns over, some thief or something like that. It's not just the two of us either, Erza said she would go with us and help us out. In return I'm supposed to go on another job with her in a few days." Natsu commented focusing on rubbing the sore spots of her feet.

"You've been spending an awful lot of time with her. I better not find out anything is going on between you two." Mirajane said darkly.

Natsu, unaffected by her dark expression, cocked his head to the side while confused by what she had said. "What do you mean by that?"

Mirajane shook her head, not wanting to say what she was thinking, but Natsu squeezed her foot and she finally relented. "Well whenever you're not here you are out with her or Lucy." Mirajane mumbled.

Natsu sighed and shook his head. "You're just over thinking things Mira; you have too much time on your hands. Why are you acting so jealous all of a sudden? I think your hormones are working a little overtime lately." He said and knew they were the worst words he could have said at the time.

"Well excuse me!" She countered. "I'm sorry my figure isn't as good as little miss perfect's." She folded her arms under her breasts and turned her head to the side.

Natsu grabbed her arm and pulled her to him, tucking her head into his chest. "Look, I'm sorry it came out like that. You **_know_** you are the only one for me, and I wouldn't say your figure isn't good. I'd say it's great, I wouldn't change anything about you."

As fast as she had changed before she was suddenly blushing and giggling to herself. "Maybe you're right though, I think this kid is starting to mess with my mind." She leaned up and kissed his cheek. "What do you say after dinner we practice on the next one and you can show me just what you like about my figure?" She whispered making the Dragon Slayer blush at how forward she was.

* * *

><p>Natsu woke up a couple of hours before the sun was up and made himself roll out of bed away from his wife. Stretching at the edge of the bed he smiled down at how peaceful she looked sleeping on her side, her hair fanned out around her. He bent and gave her temple a small kiss and watched her for a moment regretfully before turning and leaving the room.<p>

Lisanna was out in the kitchen waiting for him just cooking up a little breakfast for the two of them. She turned and gave him a small smile. "Mira still out of it?" Natsu hummed and nodded, taking one of the plates of eggs and toast from her when she offered it. "I know you worry about her when you leave, but you know how strong she is."

Natsu grunted in response, not wanting to talk about it at the moment. Taking a deep breath he shook the worries out of his head. "I know, I know, she is going to be here with the rest of the guild too. Besides, a little time away from you and Erza might do her good. You should have heard her ranting about how little everyone is letting her do."

Lisanna frowned across the table. "You're the one that asked us to go so far."

"Shhh! Don't say it out loud, besides I said I would make it up to you after we get through this. Just a couple of months to go." The thought brought warmth to his chest and as he picked up their plates to deposit them into the sink he cast a look at the closed door of their room. "I'll grab my bag then we can go." He saw Lisanna nod and head to her own room down the hall to grab her bag.

Inside the room Mirajane sat cross legged in the middle of the bed hugging a pillow, watching him walk over to her sadly. "Come back soon." She said weakly. Natsu smiled and gave her a gentle kiss. "So long as you promise to be safe here without me, we have nothing to worry about." He countered. Her frown turned into a smile and she pulled him down for another kiss.

Natsu wrapped his scarf around her neck and gave her one last kiss before throwing his sack over a shoulder. "I'll be back by tonight. Have fun with Bisca." He called back to her as he rushed out to follow Lisanna down the road.

Mirajane sat there in the bed simply watching the closed door to their room. She hated it when he left. After a few minutes of sitting there she forced herself to lie back down to try and go back to sleep.

Daylight couldn't come fast enough. She hadn't gotten very much sleep, even when Natsu had been there. Her dreams had kept her up and whenever she actually fell asleep she would wake up wishing she hadn't in the first place. Finally, even though the sun was still hiding behind the horizon, she had had enough of her fears plaguing her dreams of Natsu not coming home this time. She knew it was farfetched that he might not come home; he was one of the strongest mages she knew, only because his emotional support would exponentially increase his power.

Mirajane found herself going through her early morning routine; she neatly remade their bed, made herself some coffee (extra strength to ensure she stayed awake), swept the floors, and took a seat on their couch with a nice calming book to wait for Bisca and Asuka to bring her to the guild. She greatly appreciated that Bisca had been helping her so often. It was nice to be around a woman that had learned how to manage the difference in life between being a mother and a mage.

Somehow, despite trying to read through her book, her thoughts returned to her dreams. At first it always started out as a feeling that something wasn't right, then Natsu would disappear. No one would acknowledge that he was gone, or even that he had existed in the first place when it came to some people.

The worst dream, the one that had convinced her to start her day extra early, was much like it had gone so far in reality where she was woken up early, only this time instead of waking up to Natsu leaving, she was woken up by a teary eyed Master Makarov and Elfman. They had informed her that there had been an incident with the train that the two mages had left on when it collided with another train. In her dream she had not only lost her loving husband, but had lost her sister a second time.

Mirajane was brought out of her thoughts when she heard an excited knock at the door, followed by a soft-spoken reprimand from an older voice. In almost as much excitement, Mirajane hopped up and ran over to the door. "Bisca, Asuka!" Mirajane cried out, scooping down to pull the young girl into a tight hug.

Asuka let out a giggle and wrapped her arms around her neck to hug Mirajane back, not catching the desperation in the elder woman's voice. Bisca, however, caught on straight away. "Everything alright?" She asked in a calm, but worried voice.

Mirajane picked Asuka up and placed her on her hip so she could speak with her mother. "Everything is… alright." She said hesitantly. "Nothing to worry about, just some bad dreams."

Bisca smiled sympathetically as she understood why Mirajane was concerned for Natsu. "Don't worry too much; Natsu will be home sooner than you think."

Mirajane nodded and invited the two in for a light breakfast before they were to leave for the Guild. It wasn't too long before her anxiety came back and she started to worry about Natsu and her dreams again. To occupy her mind the best that she could, Mirajane kept up a conversation with Bisca about how Asuka was becoming a beauty just like her mother.

After breakfast they traveled to the Guild, all the while Mirajane thought she could feel someone watching her. That was to be expected though, she was easily one of the most recognizable Mages of Fairy Tail and the gossip about her and Natsu expecting a child had everyone turning their heads to get a glimpse at her. Still, it ate away at her that something wasn't right, but the little girl walking with her squeezed her hand to assure her that everything would be okay. Strangely enough, that simple gesture from one she cared for did more than actually proving there was no one following her. Everything would be okay as long as she had her friends around.

Once at the Guild her focus evaporated. Almost everything was going as it should and she could feel the calming effect that such normalcy could bring. Suddenly Bisca grabbed her free hand and pulled her over to a group of women. "What took you so long? We have been waiting for nearly an hour!" Evergreen cried out, throwing her hands up in the air.

"What do you mean you've been waiting for us for an hour? Why were you waiting for us?" Mirajane asked folding her arms across her chest.

Bisca waved her hand dismissively at Evergreen. "Wouldn't want to rush an angry pregnant woman would we? Besides, we are here now aren't we?"

Just as Mirajane was getting mad at them for ignoring her, she was forcibly sat down in a chair at the head of the table. She was even more confused when three slices of different cake were dropped onto the table in front of her. She looked up and around at the others and saw them pulling out fabric or notebooks and pens.

"What's going on?" She asked again.

"Planning your baby shower of course!" Juvia exclaimed. "Once we have finished, would you tell Juvia how you entrapped Natsu to see you as a woman?" Her eyes lit up with hearts and adoration. "Gray-sama is less dense than Natsu so he is sure to pick up whatever you did to capture your Dragon's heart!"

Mirajane giggled to herself and threw herself into the work that the girls had brought for planning. There were so many things to plan; what the theme would be, what kind of cake, games to play, where it would be held, and what other types of food and drink to serve along with it. Thankfully with all of the commotion, she had forgotten about her worries.

* * *

><p>After being walked home by Elfman and Evergreen, she had convinced them that everything would be fine since Natsu should be returning early in the morning. It took a little convincing herself once they were gone to stop checking her windows and doors to ensure that they were locked so she could go to sleep. Her excitement for Natsu to be home ended up being her downfall as she failed to fall asleep until she was too groggy to react to the sound of someone entering the house. Before she knew what was happening, or who had entered, she was asleep.<p>

It only took a few minutes and the hooded figure of the intruder stepped in. he smiled happily upon seeing Mirajane asleep. Her pregnant belly drew his eyes and he slipped forward to run a hand over her, feeling the Lost Magic within. He spoke up as he felt the child within her kick. "Don't worry little one, Daddy is here to protect you. No one will ever take you from me."

* * *

><p>When she finally woke up, Mirajane noticed that there was in fact a person next to her, and upon not feeling an overpowering, yet comfortingly, warmth knew it couldn't be Natsu that was lying next to her.<p>

The ivory-haired mage rolled away, or at least tried to. As soon as she moved, the person's eyes shot open and she saw him grab a chain. She slipped off the side of the bed and drew it taunt. How she hadn't realized she was tied up, she had no idea, but what worried her the most was who held the chain. She fought to keep from shuddering as their eyes met while she forced herself as far as she could from the bed, as far as the chain would let her.

"Good morning dearest, I do hope you have not worried for me in my absence." Mirajane recoiled at being addressed as such, almost as if he was speaking to a loved one.

"What do you want?" She growled, already trying to summon her magic. "And how exactly are you even here? Last we saw of you, you were being carted off to jail!"

Ryou grinned and yanked on the chain, pulling her back onto the bed on her hands and knees, just barely catching herself from falling on her face. "Don't be like that; you know I had to get rid of that nuisance before I could take you home." He drew closer and let his eyes follow his hand as he slid it up her chain to the collar on her neck. "Now that there is no one to stop us from being together, I will be taking you and our child where you _belong_." He grabbed the collar and pulled her face to look up at him. "This will be the last time you see Fairy Tail, better write your goodbyes while you have a chance."

Mirajane could feel the icy touches of panic as it began to set in and she could truly see how bleak the predicament she was in looked. Sudden realization dawned on her. 'I just have to wait until Natsu comes back and he can fix all of this.' She thought to herself, failing to prevent the ray of hope that burst through her.

She saw the smile spread further across the Water Dragon Slayer, but her hope refused to die. "I told you, he isn't going to be a problem anymore. I took care of him and his friends."

"Wh-what did you do? WHAT DID YOU DO?" She roared, the air around her pulsating with energy for a moment before it faltered and her pendant glowed to prevent her emotions from forcing her powers out. 'Damnit, this isn't the time for this to happen. I need my powers for this, but without it… My body can't handle Natsu's power as it builds within our child…'

"In a way, he took my place." Ryou said cryptically, chuckling to himself. Standing up, he pulled the collar to drag her to her feet. "That's enough about your ex-lover; it's time that we get going. You have fifteen minutes to write your goodbyes." He turned back to glare at Mirajane for a moment. "Don't try to tell them where you're going, they won't be able to find you until I want them to."

"If I leave, how do we know that I'll be okay, how do you even know if you can keep my child alive? You aren't its father; your magic is too different." Mirajane whispered out, still trying to figure a way out of the situation.

Ryou didn't bother to turn around as he went about gathering her clothes to take with them. "I told you, I've already gone through this. I know what to do now, you aren't in any trouble. I am the only one that can keep you alive, and I will have my daughter."


End file.
